—  •AS  — 

1  Found  It. 


'If/?.. 


5- Iran  K  Swales  ••• 


UNIVERSITY  OF  MASSACHUSETTS 
AT  AMHERST 


UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 

Special  Collections  &  Rare  Books 


J^. 


>5\-s.- 


-<i^      (^^^Z^,^^,^     '' 

^^ 

-J-  ■■;  ^■'"— 

L 

-*.r^- 

op^'                  ^ 

DRIVING    AS    I    FOUND    IT. 


WHAT 


DRIVE 


HOW 

TO 

DRIVE 


BY 

ILLUSTKATED  BY  WALTER  PETTEE. 
(COPYBIGHTED.) 


ECLIPSE    PUBLISHING  CO., 
54  West  Twenty-thied  Street,  New  York. 


1891. 


LINOTYPE  PKINT. 

BY 

KAPID    PRINTING  COMPANY, 

220-222  WILLIAM  ST., 

NEW  YORK. 


■\{'^~J:- 


Am/Cuc 


To  Colonel  DeLancey  Kane. 


In  recognition  of  his  rare,  good  qualities, 
as  a  gentleman,  whip  and  sportsman,  the  appre- 
ciation of  which  can  find  no  more  ardent  admirer 
than  his  humble  servant,  who  with  his  permission 
respectfully  dedicates  this  work  to  him. 

FRANK     SWALES. 


CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

Observations !'<' 

Gentlemen  Dealers 30 

Tattersalls 34 

Horse  Dealers  'i^ 

Buying  Horses  52 

High  Steppers 60 

Cappers  65 

Feeding 69 

Shoeing  73 

The  Auction  Marts ^6 

Horse  Shows   81 

AVhat  to  Drive  85 

How  to  Drive  One  Horse  or  a  Pair 94 

The  Whip  104 

The  Tandem  109 

How  to  Drive  Tandem  and  Four 119 

Four  in  Hand  132 

Six  in  Hand 163 

The  Old  Times  (Song) 172 

Coaching  in  America 175 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE. 

Colonel  DeLancey  Kane Frontispiece 

Sale  Day  at  Tattersalls,  N.  Y 35 

Interior  of  Tattersalls,  N.  Y 41 

Exterior  of  Tattersalls,  N.  Y 53 

A  Good  Sort 61 

Inclined  to  be  Tricky 79 

A  Roadster  87 

False  Breeching 91 

Tandem,  Mr.  Benton  Mansfield 107 

No  Thoroughfare  112 

Showing  Off  113 

Sleigh  Tandem  117 

A  Professional  133 

Above  His  Business  141 

Break  Blocks  158 

Outing  Break  161 

Chain  Trace  162 

Coach  "Mohican"  165 

Coach  "Tally  Ho"  173 


TWENTY-ONE  DRIVING  LESSONS. 

Fia.  ONE  HORSE  OR  PAIR.                                 PAGE. 

1.  Starting  Off 94 

2.  Pulling  Up 96 

3.  Shortening  Reins 97 

4.  Turn  to  Near  Side 98 

5.  Turn  to  Off  Side 99 

TANDEM  AND  FOUR. 

6.  TaMng  Reins  in  Hand 119 

7.  Reins  in  Left  Hand 120 

8.  Change  to  Right,  Before  Getting  on  Box  Seat..  120 

9.  Ready  to  Start 121 

10.  Old  Style  Way  to  Start 122 

11.  Turn  to  Left 123 

12.  Near  Lead  Rein  Looi)ed 124 

13.  Turn  to  Right— Loop  Made 125 

14.  Near  Side 126 

15.  Off  Side. .-  126 

16.  Steadying  Leaders 127 

17.  Shortening  Lead  Reins 128 

18.  "  "  "     129 

19.  Shortening  Wheel  Reins. 130 

20.  Throw  Out  Off  Reins 131 

2L    Six  in  Hand. 169 


IKTBODUCTIOK. 


Whether  a  regular  preface  is  of  any  advantage  to  a 
book  I  am  not  sufficiently  versed  in  literary  matters  to 
determine;  still  I  consider  that  a  proper  feeling  of  re- 
spect for  the  driving  public  calls  for  something  in  the 
shape  of  an  introduction. 

I  trust  that  the  public  will  look  over  whatever  errors 
co-Sij  have  slipped  into  this  book,  and  accept  it  as  a 
general  treatise  on  driving,  with  the  observation  and 
opinions  of  a  practical  man,  committed  to  paper  as  the 
ideas  suggested  themselves,  which,  if  they  are  taken 
together,  may  be  thought  in  some  parts  useful,  in  others 
occasionally  amusing,  I  shall  have  realized  all  I  could 
anticipate  or  wash  for.  The  hints,  observations  and 
illustrations  contained  in  this  book  are  not  merely  those 
of  one  who  learned  for  pleasure,  but  were  gathered  dur- 
ing many  3  ears'  experience  as  professional  coachman, 
both  in  England  and  in  America. 


DRIVING  AS  1   FOUND  IT. 


OBSERVATIONS. 


On  nearly  every  art  or  science  practised  by  man  there 
lias  been  instructions,  treatises,  opinions,  criticisms, 
and  I  know  not  what,  repeatedly  published.  They 
rank  from  the  highly  intellectual  study  of  astronomy  to 
the  more  manual  art  of  making  a  horseshoe.  Nothing 
scarcely  has  been  thought  too  insignilicant  to  fix  the 
attention  and  call  forth  the  written  opinions  of  tliose 
conversant  with  their  subject.  Horsemanship  produced 
writers  of  a  very  early  date,  varying  their  instructions 
and  terms  used  according  to  the  age  in  which  they  lived 
and  wrote.  But  I  am  not  aware  that  any  really  good 
instructions  in  the  art  of  driving  have  yet  appeared  in 
print.  Why  driving  should  have  been  hitherto  con- 
sidered less  worthy  of  attention  as  a  subject  to  be 
written  about  than  horsemanship  I  cannot  explain. 
That  it  should  be  done  well,  if  done  at  all,  I  consider 
most  important.  If  a  man  rides  he  rides  alone,  and 
has  most  unquestionably  a  right  to  break  his  own  neck 
if  he  pleases,  but  if  he  is  driving  others,  he  certainly 


18  DRIVING    AS    I    FOUND    Yt. 

has  no  right  to  break  their  necks.  It  is  singular  enough 
that,  though  hundreds  of  men  who  ride  on  horseback, 
willingly  allow  that  they  are  very  indifferent  horse- 
men, but  you  will  rarely  find  a  man  who  drives  even 
ft  buggy  who  does  not  conceive  he  does  it  as  well  as  it 
can  be  done,  or  who  for  one  moment  thinks  he  is  in 
clanger  through  his  ignorance.  No  doubt  there  is  no 
great  exertion  or  art  required  to  sit  in  a  buggy,  hold 
the  reins  and  guide  a  steady  horse  the  way  you  wish 
him  to  go,  but  even  in  this  humble  attempt  at  coach- 
manship the  way  it  is  many  times  done  would,  to  a 
practised  eye,  at  once  show  that,  while  one  man  is  capa- 
ble of  greater  things,  another  was  not  capable  of  doing 
well  the  little  he  did  attempt.  It  is  true  a  man  may 
drive  one  horse  well,  but  this  does  not  prove  him  to  be 
a  good  pair-horse  coachman.  In  the  same  way  many 
may  also  drive  a  paii'  well  but  be  quite  astray  with 
four.  But  whether  with  one  horse,  a  pair,  a  unicorn, 
or  regular  team  before  him,  the  coachman  is  to  be  de- 
tected at  once.  His  manner  of  taking  up  his  reins  and 
seating  himself  will  be  quite  sufficient  proof.  Coolness, 
light  hands  and  good  temper  are  the  essential  qualities 
requisite  to  make  a  good  coachman.  These  are  much 
more  necessary  in  a  coachman  than  in  a  horseman 
if  for  nothing  but  for  the  sake  of  others.  An  irritated 
horse  bolts  off  with  his  rider  or  throws  him,  or  both, 


OBSERVATIONS.  19 

he  alone  then  pays  the  penalty  of  his  fault,  but  an 
irritated  horse  in  harness,  particularly  in  light  private 
carriages,  is  dangerous  to  a  degree.  We  may  and  can 
manage  him  as  wheeler  to  a  coach,  the  weight  and  his 
companion  holding  him  in  check,  but  in  a  light  car- 
riage let  me  tell  young  coachmen  who  may  think  they 
are  in  little  d auger,  that  no  man  living  can  hold  two 
horses  determined  to  run  away,  and  as  to  four  all  in 
the  same-  mind  they  are  no  more  to  be  held  than  a 
locomotive  engine  For  this  reason  their  steam  should 
never  be  got  up  too  high. 

Having  gc>t  so  far  I  must  now  do  what  I  ought  to 
have  done  at  the  commencement, — show  my  motive 
for  commencing  at  all.  It  was  neither  more  nor  less 
than  that  I  cousidered  a  regular  treatise  on  driving,  in 
the  general  sense  of  the  word,  Avould  be  a  work  of 
great  utility,  and  all  I  intend,  or  hope  to  do,  is  to  show 
that  driving  is  not  quite  comprehended  by  sitting  be- 
hind a  horse  or  given  number  of  horses,  with  the  reins 
in  the  driver's  hand,  trusting  to  Providence  and  good 
lucli  for  getting  along  in  safety. 

"A  little  knowledge  is  a  dangerous  thiug,"  I  really 
flatter  myself  that  I  possess  comparatively  a  good 
deal  in  these  matters,  yet  this  teaches^  me  that  I  do  not 
know  quite  half  enough,  and  also  that  many  who  profess 
a  great  deal  really  know  nothing  at  all. 


20  DRIVING    AS    I    FOUND    IT. 

If  a  man  from  inclination  or  circumstances  is  des- 
tined to  drive  only  one  description  of  vehicle  and  one 
description  of  liorse  it  would  be  sufficient  for  Ms  pur- 
pose that  he  drives  that  vehicle  well  and  safely.  The 
private  servant  avIio  diiAes  a  brougham  or  a  landau  or 
any  description  of  one  horse  or  pair-horse  carriage,  may 
do  very  well  for  tliis,  and  doubtless  flatters  himself  he 
could  do  very  well  for  any  other  description  of  coach- 
manship. He  would,  however,  find  himself,  or  at  all 
events,  others  would  find  him,  woefully  deficient  when 
put  to  the  test.  The  different  description  of  knowledge 
and  practice  required  in  driving  different  descriptions  of 
carriages,  different  descriptions  of  horses,  and  those  in 
different  descriptions  of  situations,  is  much  more  varied 
than  people  are  apt  to  imagine.  The  finished  coachman 
can  di-i\e  anything,  and  drive  it  well,  but  he  will  not,  nor 
cannot  drive  anything  equally  well.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  but  the  stage  coachman  requires,  and  fortunately 
acquires,  generally  speaking,  more  diversified  knowl- 
edge in  coachmanshii)  than  any  other  votary  of  the 
whip,  particularly  when  driving  sixty  or  seventy  miles 
across  a  country.  Here  he  will  have  perhaps  nine  or  ten 
teams  to  drive,  and  to  learn  how  to  manage  the  tem- 
pers of  from  forty  to  fifty  different  horses,  independent 
of  the  chances  of  these  horses  becoming  lame  or  ill 
from  accidents  and  various  other  cii'cumstances  which 


OBSERVATIONS.  21 

may  from  time  to  time  occur.  He  will  have  to  know 
how  to  get  over  all  sorts  of  ground  with  the  greatest 
advantage  as  to  time,  the  ease  of  his  horses,  and  the 
safety  of  his  passengers,  clearly  showing  that  driving 
the  same  vehicle,  I  mean  here  a  coach,  in  different  sit- 
nations  and  nnder  different  circnmstances  requires  quite 
different  management. 

I  wish  my  readers  to  understand  that  a  man  is  not 
merely  a  coachman  who,  with  everything  put  right 
for  him,  can  contrive  to  turn  corners  without  running 
against  a  post,  or  who  can  manage  to  wend  his  way 
along  a  road  or  moderate-ly  ^ilequented  street.  He 
should  understand  his  carriage,  know  its  component 
parts,  and  their  effects  on  its  safety  and  running.  If 
he  does  not  know  all  these  he  might  be  driving  with 
something  about  it  loose,  cracked,  strained,  broken  or 
misplaced  at  the  imminent  risk  of  his  own  and  his  com- 
panions' lives.  If  not  a  judge  of  its  running  well  or 
ill  his  horses  will  suffer.  I  need  scarcely  say  it  is  also 
necessary  that  a  good  coachman  should  understand  the 
full  effect  of  every  strap  and  buclde  about  his  harness, 
for  on  properly  harnessing  and  bitting  horses  all  their 
comfort  and  that  of  the  driver  depends.  More  accidents 
happen  from  the  want  of  this  than  from  any  other 
cause,  and  horses  are  also  often  very  much  punished  in 
their  work  from  such  neglect.    A  man  ignorant  of  all 


22  DRIVING    AS    I    FOUND    IT. 

tihese  matters  does  not  know  what  is  likely  to  lead  to 
danger,  and  of  course  when  once  in  it,  he  is  as  helpless 
as  a  child  in  adopting  the  best  or  perhaps  the  only 
means  of  getting  ont  of  it.  The  reader  has  doubtless 
often  seen  a  coachman,  before  taking  hold  of  the  reins, 
go  to  all  four  of  his  horses'  heads,  lay  hold  of  their  bits 
and  feel  that  each  horse  is  properly  bitted.  Probably 
this  to  some  has  appeared  a  useless  precaution.  The 
coachman,  however,  knows  better,  for  upon  this  a  great 
part  of  his  own  and  passengers'  safety  depends. 

I  may  perhaps  surprise  many  persons  by  stating  that 
a  horse  improperly  bitted  will  sometimes  set  'him  kick- 
ing. Some  may  say  what  on  earth  has  his  moutlk  to  do 
with  his  heels?  A  great  deal  with  some  horses.  They 
say  "the  devil  is  good-tempered  when  he  is  well 
pleased."  So  am  I,  and  so  is  a  horse,  and  while  he  is  he 
goes  pleasantly  and  quietly,  but  put  a  too  severe  bit 
in  his  mouth,  and  what  is  ten  times  worse,  put  the 
reins  into  rude  hands,  his  mouth  gets  punished,  which 
naturally  irritates  and  puts  him  out  of  temper.  If  under 
these  conditions  any  little  thing  occurs  that  at  another 
time  he  would  not  have  cared  for,  he  sets  to  kicldng  at 
once. 

The  guarding  against  every  probability  of  getting 
into  difficulties  or  danger  I  consider  the  first  duty  of  a 
coachman,  knowing  what  is  likely  to  lead  to  either  is 


OBSERVATIONS.  23 

an  indispensible  part  of  the  qualification  to  become 
one,  and  when  in  difficulty  a  fine  hand,  strong  nerve,  a 
quick  eye  and  presence  of  mind  are  all  necessary  to  ex- 
tricate him  from  it.  Here  the  coachman  shows  him- 
self, and  here  the  dummy  universally  fails.  The  latter 
sees  the  effect  plain  enough,  but  knows  nothing  What- 
ever of  the  causes,  consequently  he  either  sits  still  and 
does  nothing,  or  if  he  does  anything,  in  all  probability 
does  the  very  thing  that  increases  both  the  difficulty  and 
the  danger. 

In  proof  of  what  presence  of  mind  and  knowing  what 
to  do  in  an  emergency  will  result  in,  I  may  mention  a 
circumstance  that  occurred  whilst  driving,  in  fact, 
breaking  a  well  bred  pair  of  horses  to  harness. 
They  had  both  become  perfectly  handy  and  were  good- 
tempered,  but  from  youth,  high  blood  and  high  con- 
dition, ready  to  avail  themselves  of  any  excuse  for  a 
lar]?.  I  hii.l  (li'iven  them  all  about  town  perfectly 
\N  ell  and  all  right,  until  coming  down  a  hilly  street  up 
went  the  pole  nearly  to  their  ears,  my  toeboard  nearly 
coming  on  tiie  hind  (juarters.  I  now  found  something  was 
all  wrong,  and  guessed  the  cause.  I  immediately  struck 
them  both  sharply  with  the  whip.  Off  they  went  like 
two  startled  deers  down  the  hill  at  about  eighteen  miles 
an  hour,  featlier  edging  everything  we  passed,  I  expect- 
ing however,  to  give  something  an  "insider,"  but  escaped. 


24  DRIVING    AS    I    FOUND    IT. 

Ascending  the  opposite  hill  enabled  me  to  pull  up, 
when  1  found  sure  enough  the  pole  pin  had  been  left 
out. 

Since  1876,  when  Colonel  DeLancey  Kane  started  the 
well-known  coach  "Tally  Ho"  from  the  Hotel  Bruns- 
wick, New  York,  to  New  Kochelle,  which  first  gave  that 
impetus  to  coaching  and  mania  for  driving  in  this 
country,  a  great  improvement  in  everything  relative 
to  horses,  carriages  and  harness  has  been  the  result. 
The  drive  in  Central  Park  can  now  compare  favorably 
with  the  Row  or  the  Bois  de  Boulogne,  both  for  quan- 
titj  and  quality,  except  in  one  most  particular  point, 
and  that  the  most  essential  point  of  all — ^the  private 
coachman.  When  I  speak  of  a  coachman  I  mean  one 
who  has  been  brought  up  from  boyhood  in  good  stables, 
under  good  men,  and  knows  his  business  thoroughly. 
The  first  coachman  to  a  lad}^  of  fashion  requires  much 
more  knowledge  of  his  business  than  people  generally 
suppose.  Here  every  jolt  must  be  broken,  no  swinging 
of  his  carriage  over  the  crossings  in  the  street,  no  sud- 
den pulls  up  or  hitting  horses  with  such  bad  judgment 
as  to  cause  a  sudden  backward  jerk  to  the  carriage. 
There  should  be  no  stopping  at  doors  so  as  to  leave  it 
swaying  backward  and  forward  to  the  full  extent  of  the 
check  braces  and  tlie  discomfiture  of  its  delicate  and 
fastidious  inmates.      The  carriage  must  stari},  go  on 


OBSERVATIONS.  25 

its  way  and  stop  as  smoothly  as  it  went  off.  Merely 
passing  safely  between  other  vehicles  would  not  be  suf- 
ficient to  satisfy  a  lady  accustomed  to  be  driven  by  such 
an  artist  as  a  first  rate  body  coachman.  To  any  ama- 
teur of  driving  it  is  really  a  treat  to  see  such  men  hand- 
ling their  horses  on  such  occasions  as  a  Court  day  at 
Buckingham  Palace.  They  may  be  seen  threading  the 
masses  of  a  dense  crowd,  their  carriages  gliding  about 
like  so  many  gondolas  on  the  Grand  Canal  at  Venice. 
No  fuss,  no  pulling  and  hauling;  a  turn  of  the  wrist  is 
sufficient  for  horses  accustomed  to  be  driven  by  such 
coachmen.  All  seems  easy  to  the  bystanders,  no  diffi- 
culty appears,  but  this  apparent  ease  shows  the  mas- 
terly hand  that  is  at  work.  There  is  a  kind  of  free- 
masonry among  such  men  that  enables  them  to  detect 
the  perfect  coachman  at  a  glance.  A  cast  of  the  eye  at 
the  hands  of  each  other  on  meeting  is  sufficient  to  show 
to  each  what  the  other  intends  doing.  They  know  they 
will  each  do  what  they  intend,  though  only  an  inch  of 
spare  room  is  between  them.  With  confidence  in  their 
mutual  skill  they  fearlessly  pursue  their  course  with  as 
much  precision  and  certainty  as  if  the  wheels  of  their 
carriages  were  confined  in  the  track  of  a  railroad.  Mis- 
haps or  even  mistakes  on  such  occasions  hardly  ever 
occur,  and  for  this  reason  they  are  all  perfect 
artis.ts.    But  go  to  the  theatres,  the  scene  is  widely 


20  DRIVING    AS    I    FOUND    IT. 

different.  Here  is  to  be  heard  swearing,  whipping, 
smashing  of  panels,  backing  of  horses,  vociferations  of 
coachmen,  cabmen  and  policemen,  the  whole  place  a 
perfect  pandemonium.  This  contrast  arises  from 
the  fact  that  in  tlie  latter  case  there  are  a  num- 
ber of  men  employed  to  drive  carriages  who  have 
little  claim  to  the  name  of  coachman.  These  clumsy 
workmen  often  fall  to  the  lot  of  ladies,  and  nearly 
always  to  merchants  and  business  gentlemen  who  keep 
carriages,  the  owners  not  being  competent  judges  of 
driving,  take  a  coachman  from  the  recommendation  of 
others  who  probably  know  as  little  of  the  necessary 
elements  of  a  good  coachman  as  themselves.  Here 
let  me  strongly  (recommend  ladies  never  to  take  a 
coachman  on  mere  recommendation,  unless  they  know 
the  person  who  gives  the  recommendation  to  be  a 
perfect  judge  of  the  requisite  qualities  of  one.  If  they 
consider  a  )man  to  be  a  promising  candidate,  before 
finally  engaging  him  let  them  get  some  one  of  their 
acquaintances  who  thoroughly  understands  such  matters 
to  sit  by  his  side  on  the  box  for  half  an  hour.  He  will 
then  either  be  at  once  disproved  of,  or  they  will  be  cer- 
tain of  having  a  servant  who  understands  his  business. 
Ten  dollars  a  month  more  in  wages  will  be  amply  made 
up  by  avoiding  coachmakers'  bills  for  repairs  or  those 
of  veterinary  surgeons  for  accidents  to  horses.    They 


OBSERVATIONS.  27 

will  also  liave  their  carriage  horses  and  harness  neatly 
turned  out,  be  properly  and  safely  driven  by  a  man 
who  /looks  like  a  coachman,  instead  of  getting  one 
who  does  not  know  how  to  do  either,  and  who  will 
probably  be  asked  by  some  knowing  fellow,  "Hello, 
there,  who  feeds  the  pigs  when  you  are  out?"  Or, 
"I  sny  neighbor,  how  much  extra  does  your  boss  give 
you  for  milking?"  An  untaught,  stupid  house  ser- 
vant plagues  and  mortifies  one  by  his  awkwardness 
but  a  coachman  with  similar  characteristics,  should 
never  be  trusted  at  large  without  a  string  and  collar 
about  his  neck  to  keep  him  off  coachboxes. 

I  have  in  the  foregoing  page  only  paid  a  just  tribute 
to  the  merits  of  the  coachman  of  ladies  or  men  of 
large  fortunes,  but  I  must  at  the  same  time  remark 
that  I  never  yet  saw  a  gentleman's  coachman  who 
could  drive  four  horses  that  he  had  been  unaccus- 
tomed to  drive.  Thej  make  the  worst  stage  coach- 
men of  any  men  who  have  been  in  the  habit  of  driving 
at  all.  They  have  been  so  used  to  horses  all  matched 
in  step  and  ti'inper  that  they  :ne  absolutely  lost  with 
any  other.  Coachmanshii)  is  therefore  to  be  shown  in 
various  ways  as  well  as  the  want  of  it,  and  is  exhibited 
under  as  various  circumstances.  Take,  for  instance, 
those  well-known  knights  of  the  whip,  Fownes,  the 
late  Selby,  Cracknel,  Huble  and  others  too  numerous 


28  DRIVING    AS    I    FOUND    IT. 

to  mention,  there  were  none  of  them  to  my  knowledge 
at  any  time  during  their  career,  private  coachmen,  but 
they  served  their  apprenticesliip  and  learnt  the  art 
which  brought  them  prominently  before  the  public 
as  stage  coachmen,  or  ijnore  commonly  speaking,  omni- 
bus drivers. 

The  Petersburg  driver  with  his  bells  and  sleigh 
is  equally  a  coachman  in  his  way.  The  Canadian,  reck- 
lessly as  it  appears  to  us,  crosses  his  corduroy  roads, 
drives  over  half-formed  bridges  or  dowm  declivities 
with  his  pole  three  feet  above  his  horses  heads  in  a 
way  none  here  could  do  it.  The  "conducteur"  of  a 
Paris  diligence  brings  his  five  horses  with  his  "town" 
behind  them  in  a  trot  into  the  inn  yard  at  Calais. 
All  three  are  coachmen  in  their  way  and  yet  none 
of  them  could  i>erform  the  parts  of  the  other.  I  have 
no  doubt  but  to  perform  each  of  their  duties  well 
requires  about  an  equal  share  of  intellect  and  practice. 

It  is  quite  evident  by  what  I  have  already  said, 
that  driving,  to  do  it  well,  should  be  learned  scienti- 
fically, and  that  there  is  much  more  danger  in  trusting 
ourselves  in  the  hands  of  persons  ignorant  of  these 
matters  than  is  generally  supposed. 

The  starting  of  the  Coaching  Club  in  New  York  has 
been  the  means  of  bringing  out  some  very  excellent 
gentlemen  coachmen  which  undoubtedly  renders  those 


OBSERVATIONS.  29 

who  participate  in  this  kind  of  sport  good  judges  of 
the  qualifications,  powers  and  merits  of  the  horse 
for  such  purposes,  and  by  constant  buying  and  selling 
such  horses,  it  makes  them  judges  of  their  relative 
value.  Long  may  such  men  live  to  enjoy  the  amuse- 
ment which  their  ample  fortunes  render  possible.  There 
are  without  doubt  pursuits  of  a  higher  order,  pursuits 
that  produce  more  beneficial  results  to  mankind  in 
general,  but  every  man  of  fortune  has  an  undoubted 
right  to  spend  that  fortune  in  such  pursuits  as  he 
conceives  affords  him  the  most  gratification,  and  pro- 
vided that  the  pursuit  be  a  harmless  one,  no  one  has  a 
right  to  interfere  with  it.  The  pursuits  of  the  sports- 
man while  carried  on  by  tlie  gentleman,  are  generally 
not  only  harmless,  but  beneficial  to  others,  they  give 
employment  to  many  and  occasion  a  great  deal  of 
money  to  be  expended. 


— -ijf^^-g— 


BU  DRIVING    AS    I    FOUND    IT. 


GENTLEMEN  DEALEKS. 

There  is  one  point  I  must  respectfully  impress  upon 
my  readers,  i.  e.,  being  a  first  rate  judge  of  a  horse 
win  not  enable  him  to  be  a  horse  dealer.  A  gentleman 
may  know  perfectly  well  the  relative  value  of  horses 
and  may  easily  ascertain  the  value  of  any  other  article 
of  merchandise  so  far  as  buying  and  selling  goes.  He 
may  even  learn  where  in  some  measure  how  to  buy  and 
sell  a  horse  to  the  best  advantage,  but  this  does  not 
qualify  him  for  a  horse  dealer.  I  am  sure  that  no  gentle- 
man ever  has  or  ever  will  succeed  as  a  regular  horse 
dealer.  That  there  are  however  many  who  in  a  private 
way  do  to  a  very  considerable  extent  deal  in  horses, 
is  a  notorious  fact  and  a  fact  very  much  to  be  regretted. 
It  is  a  subject  of  still  further  regret  that  among  them 
are  found  those  who  in  every  other  transaction  are 
men  of  unblemished  honor  aii,d  integrity.  If  these 
gentlemen  conceive  that  they  carry  on  this  underhand 
kind  of  private  trade  without  it  calling  forth  very 
severe  animadversion  from  those  who  abstain  from  it 
they  very  much  deceive  themselves,  and  they  labor  under 
the  influence  of  a  stiU  further  error  if  they  suppose 


GENTLEMEN    DEALERS.  31 

that  tliej  can  continue  this  practice,  without  losing 
very  considerably  in  point  of  character  and  prestige 
in  the  estimation  of  their  friends  and  acquaintances. 
Placing  them  in  comparison  with  the  regular  horse- 
dealer,  I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  so  far  as  this 
pursuit  is  concerned,  1  consider  the  latter  the  most 
respectable  man.  He  sells  you  a  horse  openly  as  a 
dealer,  as  a  man  who  disposes  of  him  entirely  for  profit; 
you  probably  place  no  reliance  upon  his  word,  or  confi- 
dence in  his  honor,  he  does  not  ask  you  to  do  so,  nor  is  he 
offended  if  you  do  not.  You  purchase  of  Mm  in  piost 
cases  under  a  written  warranty.  If  the  horse  does  not 
answer  the  description  given  of  him  the  law  is  open  to 
you  for  redress.  If  you  have  just  cause  of  complaint 
he  generally  at  once  takes  the  horse  back.  But  if  you 
buy  from  a  gentleman  dealer  in  horses  you  trust  to  his 
word  and  to  his  honor.  If  you  are  deceived,  which  by 
the  by,  you  will  find  no  uncommon  case,  what  is  your 
resource?  You  must  either  keep  your  ,bargain,  or, 
if  you  hint  that  you  have  been  taken  in,  a  quarrel 
ensues,  and  you  are  called  out  for  presuming  to  doubt 
the  word  and  honor  of  a  man  who,  however,  in  such 
cases,  forfeits  both  perhaps  twenty  times  in  a  year. 
Such  men,  are,  however,  rare  among  gentlemen,  and 
I  trust  may  long  remain  so.  From  the  moment  a 
gentleman  first  harbors  the  idea  of  making  money  by 


32  DRIVING   AS    I    FOUND    IT. 

buying  and  selling  horses  lie  has  taken  the  first  step 
toward  degradation.  He  possibly  at  first,  indeed  mogt 
probably,  had  no  further  view  than  in  an  honorable 
way  availing  himself  of  his  superior  judgment  and 
taste.  He  is  "unfortunate"  enough  to  sell  three  or 
four  horses  to  advantage.  This  gives  him  encourage- 
ment and  probably  for  the  first  time  in  his  life  he  feels 
the  pleasure  of  making  money  in  a  peculiar  and  in- 
teresting maimer,  and  he  continues  to  speculate  with 
success.  Hitherto  he  has  done  nothing  wrong.  His 
horses  have  all  turned  out  as  he  represented  them. 
He  now,  however,  happens  unfortunately  to  get  a 
horse  not  quite  what  he  should  be.  AVhat  is  he  to  do 
with  him?  Is  he  to  sell  him  at  a  loss?  A  very  short 
time  ago  he  would  have  done  so,  but  now  the  itch 
for  makiQg  money  has  taken  too  firm  a  hold  upon  him. 
He  enters  into  a  kind  of  compromise  with  his  conscience 
and  the  horse  has  really  perhaps  nothing  material  tlie 
matter  with  him.  He  avails  himself  of  his  position  in 
society  and  sells  him  on  his  word,  as  a  perfectly  sound 
horse.  If  he  proves  otherwise  he  does  not  allow  he 
has  been  guilty  of  of  a  deception,  but  places  his  word 
of  honor  that  he  was  sound  when  he  sold  him.  This 
closes  the  transaction.  Having  thus  escaped  with 
impunity,  instead  of  taking  it  as  a  salutary  warning  of 
the  dangers  of  such  transactions  and  haviug  once  been 


GENTLEMEN    DEALERS.  33 

gviiltj  of  a  dereliction  of  honor  and  integrity  he  goes 
on  until  he  unblushingly  (in  dealers  parlance)  ''sticks 
a  screw''  into  a  friend  whenever  he  can  find  the  oppor- 
tunity. 

This  is  a  fair  sample  of  the  usual  i^areor  of  tliose  who 
commence  privately  dealing  in  horse?,.  It  is  a  pursuit 
that  every  gentleman  should  avoid.  It  is  as  demoraliz- 
ing in  its  influence  on  the  mind  and  eventually  as  fatal 
in  its  effects  on  the  character  as  is  the  pursuit  of  the 
pr(.fessevl  gambler.  (''All  fair  in  horse-dealing"  is  an 
idea  that  some  persons  profess).  It  is  a  very  erroneous 
one.  It  is  an  idea,  that  no  sensible  or  honorable  man 
can  seriously  entertain.  There  is  no  more  excuse  for 
premeditated  deception  in  the  sale  of  a  horse  than 
there  is  in  any  other  transaction.  The  moment  a  man 
can  bring  himself  to  think  there  is  he  will  steal. 


34  DRIVING  AS  I  FOUND  IT. 


TATTERSALLS. 

If  any  one  imagines  from  what  I  have  previously  TVTit- 
ten  on  the  subject  of  horse  dealers  that  I  wish  either  to 
consider  or  intend  to  represent  horse  dealers  as  men  in 
whom  we  may  place  perfect  confidence,  the  fault  must  be 
attributed  to  my  peculiarity  of  expression  and  not  to  any 
intention  of  mine,  as  I  consider  them  in  no  such  light. 
Confidence  may  be  reposed  in  many  dealers  in  the  same 
way  as  dealers  in  wine  or  in  pictures.  If  a  man,  how- 
ever, is  not  a  judge,  and  is  not  posted,  and  goes  to  either 
making  his  o^ti  purchases,  he  is  certain  to  be  more  or 
less  taken  in ;  that  is  to  say,  he  will  not  get  the  best  value 
for  his  money.  If  first-rate  dealers  they  wiU  not  venture 
to  give  you  an  absolutely  unsound  horse  in  the  face  of  a 
warranty  to  the  contrary,  a  decidedly  pricked  wine  for 
sound,  or  a  pirated  copy  for  a  genuine  picture,  but  you 
will  be  pretty  sure  to  get  an  inferior  horse  or  wine  or 
painting.  They  are  tradesmen,  and  are  in  business  to 
make  money,  and,  while  they  do  not  dare  to  do  anything 
which  is  absolutely  dishonest,  their  consciences  are  some- 
thing like  that  of  the  old  Irish  lawyer  who  considered  that 
there  was  nothing  dishonorable  that  was  not  contrary 


^-l ^'-'^^fp— ■; 

1 

.i^_.^^  ^ 
'.€^'1 

Sale    Day    at    Tattersalls,    New   York. 


TATTERSALLS.  37 

to  law.  I  have  previously  stated  that  I  am  convinced  that 
a  respectable  dealer  is,  in  the  end,  all  tilings  being  con- 
sidered, the  best  medium  by  which  a  gentleman  can 
supply  himself  witli  a  horse,  and  possibly  the  cheapest. 
•If  he  is  not  a  judge  of  a  horse  he  has  no  business  going 
personally  to  dealers  in  horses.  it  is  far  better 
to  take  some  one  with  him,  who  is  a  judge  of  what  is 
wanted,  and  wlio  will  keep  his  eyes  open, 
and  lie  will  want  both  of  them  wide  open, 
even  in  buying  from  reliauble  sources. 

Another  point  in  favor  of  tlie  regular  horse  dealer,  par- 
ticularly one  wlio  has  a  good  connection  and  large  de- 
mand for  them,  is  the  fact  that  he  does  not  limit  his 
buyers  to  the  price  paid  for  tliem,  but  gives  them  strict 
instructions  to  buy  the  best.  It  is  stated  that  one  gen- 
tleman horse  dealer,  who  a  short  time  ago  went  West — 
Philadelphia  or  Newark — ^rsdth  |2,000  and  brought  back 
eighteen  horses,  was  credited  with  a  great  feat  of  buying 
them  at  less  than  |50  a  head  than  their  minimum 
price,  which  was  that  paid  by  the  horse  car  companies 
for  what  is  called  "streeters."  What  this  gentleman 
wanted  with  this  class  of  liorse  is  hard  to  determine, 
excepting  it  was  to  play  false  on  intended  purchasers, 
something  like  in  this  manner:  "For  Sale,  the  property 
of  a  gentleman;  several  pairs  of  horses  of  quality;  all  in 
good  working  condition ;  well  broken  to  four-in-hand  and 


38 


DRIVING  AS  I  FOUND  IT. 


tandem."  I  do  not  doubt  for  a  moment  that  they  were 
in  working  condition,  many  of  them  having  worked  long 
enough  to  become  a  bit  "shovey''  in  front  (bent  in  their 
forelegs).  Such  horses  Avere  entirely  unsuitable  for  the 
purposes  for  which  they  were  intended,  and  ought  to 
have  been  in  the  hands  of  peddlers  or  runners  of  junk 
carts. 

6uch  pitfalls  for  the  unAvary  buyer  are,  of  dourse,  un- 
known in  dealing  with  a  firm  like  Messrs.  Tattersall,  of 
London.  That  great  house,  which  for  a  century  and  a 
half  has  maintained  its  pre-eminence,  and  has  achieved  a 
financial  success  and  stability  of  the  highest,  has  rigidly 
observed  the  rule  never  to  buy  at  its  own  sales  for  re- 
sale, and  never  to  allow  a  bid  by  an  owner  or  on  his  part, 
,excei3t  in  the  case  of  an  entry  with  a  reserve  i^rice.  At 
the  top  of  each  regular  weekly  catalogue  of  Messrs. 
Tattersall  the  following  notice  appears:  "The  OT\Tier  re- 
serves the  right  to  bid  through  his  agent,  the  auctioneer, 
as  often  as  he  sees  fit."  The  plain  English  of  this  is  that 
there  may  be  reserv  e  prices,  up  to  which  point  the  animal 
will  be  protected  by  the  auctioneer,  and  the  object  is  to 
prevent  the  appearance  of  active  bidding  when  it  does 
not  exist,  and  thus  to  guard  the  public  from  a  deception 
that  might  unfairly  be  practiced  ui:>on  it. 

But  when  it  is  announced  at  Tattersall's  that  an  ani- 
mal is  offered  without  reserve,  every  one  is  assured  of  an 


TATTERSALLS.  39 

absolute  sale,  for  no  owner  would  have  the  hardihood  to 
attempt  a  bid,  directly  or  indirectly,  as  such  an  attempt 
would  only  invite  certain  and  public  humiliation.  It  has 
followed  from  the  enforcement  of  these  rules  that  this 
house  is  known  distinctly  not  to  be  horse-dealers  in  any 
sense,  but  simply  as  a  great  commission  agency  for  those 
who  buy  and  sell.  It  is  thus  entirely  removed  from  the  re- 
motest suspicion  as  to  its  transactions.  Every  consignor 
knows  that  aside  from  the  honorable  traditions  of  the 
house,  the  amoant  of  its  commission  is  always  depend- 
ent upon  the  price  realized,  and  that  its  interest  is 
blended  with  that  of  its  patron.  The  confidence  thus  in- 
spired has,  of  course,  been  one  of  the  material  agents  in 
obtaining  and  holding  its  great  popularity,  and  in  its 
long  history  it  has  mtnessed  the  rise  of  many  a  new  firm, 
that  started  on  the  same  prhicipl  but  that,  yielding  to 
the  strong  temptation  to  deal  covertly,  fell  by  the  Avay- 
side. 

It  may  be  said  that  the  commission  house  has  a  per- 
fect right  to  pick  up  a  bargain  when  it  offers,  where  it 
does  so  openly,  and  without  neglect  to  the  interest  of  its 
client,  but  even  then  it  should  be  remembered  that,  in 
view  of  his  usual  commission,  the  auctioneer  has  an  ad- 
vantage of  ten  per  cent,  over  all  other  purchasers — a  fact 
hardly  to  be  reconciled  with  business  equity. 

Briefly  stated,  the  Tattersall  principle  is  that,  for  its 


40  DRIVING    AS    I    FOUND    IT. 

own  sake,  and  for  the  sake  of  its  customers,  it  secures 
tlie  best  prices  possible,  wliile  it  leaves  the  plums  also 
for  the  buyers  at  its  sales.  The  success  of  the  house  is 
the  best  possible  proof  of  the  soundness  of  the  principle. 
The  only  agencies  in  existence  of  the  original  Tatter- 
sails,  of  London,  England,  established  in  the  United 
States,  are  Tattersalls,  of  New  York  (Limited),  founded  in 

1890,  and  Tattersalls,  of  Chicago  (Limited),  founded  in 

1891,  which  conduct  their  business  under  precisely  the 
same  rules  and  methods  as  the  parent  house.  \Vhether 
by  auction  or  at  private  sale  the  interests  of  these  houses 
is  simply  the  commission,  and  every  i)ossible  effort  is 
made  to  prevent  bidding  up  on  the  part  of  the  owner, 
a  practice  as  unfair  as  it  is  frequent.  Whenever  an  at- 
tempt in  this  direction  is  detected  it  is  promptly  and 
vigorously  defeated,  and  so  long  as  this  system  is  main- 
tained there  can  be  no  doubt  of  the  complete  success  of 
the  new  company. 

Mr.  Wm.  Easton,  who  has  been  for  many  years  at  the 
head  of  a  large  and  successful  business  of  this  character 
in  this  country,  but  which  is  now  merged  in  the  busi- 
ness above  alluded  to,  is  the  managing  director  and 
business  head  of  this  new  house.  He  is  a  gentleman  of 
tireless  activity,  and  of  great  experience  in  every  branch 
of  this  business,  while  as  an  auctioneer  he  possesses  re- 
markable qualities.  Unlike  the  mere  automatons  who  sim- 


TATTERSALLS.  43 

ply  serve  to  record  bids  and  to  maintain  a  monotonous 
jargon,  he  possesses  many  attributes  of  the  born  orator, 
and  not  only  makes  his  sales  interesting  to  casual 
spectators,  but  has  a  magnetic  way  of  coaxing  the  coy 
bidders  and  stimulating  the  languid. 

His  latest  sale  of  thoroughbreds — those  composing  the 
racing  stable  of  the  late  Senator  Hearst — was  one  of  his 
most  brilliant  successes,  but  it  is  certain  to  be  eclipsed 
by  the  sale  of  the  Belmont  stud,  next  October,  which 
promises  to  rival,  if  it  does  not  surpass,  the  famous 
breaking  up  sale  of  the  late  Lord  Falmouth's  stud. 
Mr.  Easton  has  just  conducted  very  successfully  the  first 
sale  of  hackneys  ever  held  in  America,  and  the  esteem 
in  which  he  is  held  by  the  large  breeders  of  thorough- 
breds may  be  imagined  from  the  fact  that  he  is  to  sell 
this  year  the  yearlings  from  tAvelve  of  the  great  studs, 
aside  from  several  important  closing-out  sales. 

This  company  is,  indeed,  the  first  to  Americanize  the 
best  English  methods  and  to  adapt  them  to  the  uses  of 
the  progressive  Kepublic.  It  regards  every  detail  that 
is  calculated  to  make  its  establishment  more  popular 
with  the  best  class  of  people.  Every  resj^onsible  i)osition 
is  occui)ied  by  a  competent  and  gentlemanly  person,  and 
the  utmost  courtesy  to  visitors  and  the  strictest  decorum 
is  inculcated  upon  all  its  employees.  It  results  from  this 
that  every  day  many  ladies  walk  in  with  as  much  free- 


4:1  1:)R1VING   AS    i    POUNl>    IT. 

doin  as  if  visiting  a  dry-goods  store,  and  they  also  attend 
the  sales  in  large  numbers,  finding  comfortable  chairs 
in  the  carpeted  galleries.  Each  morning  a  printed  cata- 
logue of  all  the  horses  in  the  place,  whether  for  public 
or  private  sale,  is  provided  for  visitors,  who  are  thus 
able  to  select  and  inspect  such  as  they  are  seeking,  with- 
out tedious  delays,  and  in  a  score  of  similar  ways  provi- 
sion is  made  for  the  convenience  of  customers. 

I  have  just  learned  that  Tattersalls  (of  New  York) 
have  purchased  an  entire  block  in  Chicago,  upon  which 
it  will  erect  a  mammoth  building,  to  be  devoted  to  its 
business.  Chicago,  and  the  vast  horse-producing  regions 
tributary  to  it,  are  to  be  congratulated  on  the  fact,  as 
they  will  thus  secure  the  benefits  of  the  admirable  Tat- 
ersall  methods. 

Another  point  of  interest,  in  referring  to  this  branch 
of  my  subject,  is  the  manner  of  warranty  as  to  soundness. 
Such  warranty  is  a  very  fruitful  source  of  business  vexa- 
tion, and  in  some  ways  of  absolute  fraud.  It  is  the  fixed 
rule  of  Tattersalls,  of  London,  not  to  allow  a  horse  to  be 
sold  from  their  premises  so  warranted.  For  three  days 
before  a  sale  every  animal  can  be  exannned,  and  intending 
purchasers  can  have  their  own  Veterinary  Surgeons  re- 
port on  them  and  thus  come  to  the  sale  prepared  to  bid 
intelligently.  If,  for  instance,  the  catalogue  describes  an 
animal  as  quiet  to  ride  and  drive  and  it  p,roves  fractious, 


TATTERSALLS. 


45 


it  may  be  returned  and  the  money  refunded.  In  other 
words,  the  owner's  description  must  be  perfectly  true,  so 
far  as  it  goes,  but  it  must  not  extend  to  soundness.  The 
effects  of  this  rule  are  equally  satisfactory  to  buyers  and 
sellers,  and  it  would  be  a  long  stride  in  advance  for 
business  in  this  country  if  this  common-sense  EnglisJa 
rule  should  be  adopted. 


46  DRIVING    AS    I    FOUND    IT. 


HOESE    DE.VLERS. 

We  will  now  look  a  little  into  the  character  and 
conduct  of  the  regular  horse  dealer.  I  know  of  no 
class  of  n^.en  on  whom  so  great  and —  what  is  much  more 
unfair — so  indiscriminate  a  share  of  odium  is  thrown 
as  on  the  horsedealer.  I  am  free  to  allow  there  are 
some  who  are  not  altogether  above  reproach.  We 
must  not,  however,  from  this  draw  the  inference  that 
it  necessarily  follows  all  horse-dealers  are  dishonest, 
but  my  humble  opinion  is  that  tradesmen  in  any  other 
line  are  pretty  much  the  same  and  in  about  the  same 
proportion  is  not  perhaps  absolutely  erroneous.  The 
only  difference  is  this,  the  horse  dealer  cheats  one  man 
in  the  day  to  the  tune  of  one  hundred  dollars,  the 
other  cheats  in  smaller  sums  a  hundred  in  the  same 
time,  always  keeping  the  fact  in  their  minds  that  in 
addition  to  this  hundred  customers  he  would  be  as 
ready  as  the  dealer  to  cheat  any  one  man  the  amount 
of  the  hundred  if  the  opportunity  offered.  There  is 
one  circumstance  that  ought  to  be  taken  into  con- 
sideration and  pleads  very  much  in  favor  of  the  fair 
horse  dealer — supposing  our  purchase  from  him  does 


HORSE  DEALERS.  47 

not  answer  our  expectation,  or  perhaps  his  representa- 
tion. That  is  the  nature  of  the  animal  in  which  he 
deals.  I  kQow  of  no  commercial  transaction  in  which 
a  man  is  so  often  deceived,  and  in  which  he  so  often 
deceives  himself,  as  in  the  horse.  Dealers  are  often, 
much  oftener  than  is  supposed,  deceived  themselves. 
Respectable  dealers  do  take  every  precaution  in  their 
power  not  to  get  an  unsound  horse  into  their  stable, 
they  cannot,  however,  with  all  their  precaution,  at  all 
times  prevent  this.  But  they  will  not  in  such  a  case 
risk  their  character  by  selling  such  a  horse  to  their 
customers.  A  horse  may  be  purchased  in  the  country 
from  the  breeder  apparently  sound.  He  may  hitherto 
have  been  so  and  yet  before  he  may  have  been  at  work 
one  week  he  may  be  the  very  reverse.  Some  hidden 
internal  cause  that  the  most  practised  eye  could  not 
detect  may  have  long  existed,  the  effects  of  which  only 
become  apparent  on  the  animal  being  put  to  work. 
Here  no  blame  can  possibly  be  attached  to  the  dealer. 
He  has  bought  him  with  every  warranty  of  soundness, 
has  traveled  him  perhaps  several  hundred  miles  home, 
has  had  him  several  days  in  his  stable  and  found  him 
all  that  he  expected.  He  has  every  right  to  think  him 
a  sound  horse  and  as  such  he  sold  him.  Still,  such  a 
horse  may  deceive  both  the  dealer  and  purchaser  when 
put  to  the  test  of  work   and   change   of  treatment. 


48  DRIVING    AS    I    FOUND    IT. 

Vicious  as  well  as  unsound  propensities  in  the  horse 
frequently  lay  dormant  for  a  \  ery  considerable  time. 
When  speaking  of  dealer's  horses,  I  mean  young  ones. 
I  am  quite  satisfied  that  where  one  young  horse  does 
mischief  from  vice,  ten  do  it  from  alarm,  and  there 
is  no  telling  what  a  frightened  horse  will  attempt  to 
do.  Be  is  a  hundred  times  more  difficult  to  control 
than  the  vicious  one.  A  coachman  may  have  driven 
his  carriage  for  years  in  perfect  safety  in  all  situa- 
tions and  may  be  an  excellent  coachman,  but  if  he 
suffers  himself  to  forget  he  has  hold  of  a  pair  of 
young  ones  without  any  other  fault  on  his  part,  he  will 
get  into  certain  difficulties  and  danger,  if  not  worse. 
The  sudden  stroke  of  the  whip  to  a  young  horse  who 
lias,  perhaps,  never  before  felt  it,  would  set  him 
plunging  at  once.  Going  more  rapidly  down  hill  than 
they  have  been  accustomed  to  do  will  alarm  them,  turn- 
ing very  sharply  round  a  corner  brings  the  other  horse 
according  to  the  turn  right  and  left,  suddenly  on  the 
pole,  and  confuses  him.  That  most  cruel  and  uncoach- 
manlike  practice  of  pulling  up  horses  sharp  at  the  door 
throws  them  suddenly  upon  their  haunches,  causes 
their  feet  to  slip  and  unless  their  mouths  are  made 
of  cast  iron  severely  injures  them.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  that  the  numerous  accidents  New  Yorkers  see 
and  daily  hear  of — I  wonder  there  is  not  more — ^three 


HORSE  DEALERS.  49 

out  of  four  arise  from  want  of  judgment  in  driving. 
A  driver  not  being  aware  of  what  is  likely  to  produce 
an  accident  consequently  takes  no  steps  to  prevent  it. 
He  probably  has  no  conception  that  a  strap  buckled 
too  tight  or  left  too  loose  will  render  a  horse  uneasy  in 
the  harness,  irritate  his  temper,  set  him  plunging 
and  finally  kicking  and  running  away.  This  horse 
might  have  been  a  week  previously  bought  from  a 
dealer,  been  driven  in  double  and  single  harness,  and 
always  gone  perfectly  quiet  and  would  have  continued 
to  have  done  so  if  oiommon  judgment  had  been  used. 
This  is  all  we  have  a  right  to  expect  from  a  high^ 
spirited  horse.  He  does  not  promise  to  carry  a  phaeton 
or  a  gig  down  hill  on  tlie  top  of  his  tail  or  be  flayed 
by  his  harness  from  our  carelessness.  If  persons  wish 
a  horse  that  would  permit  this  1  should  recommend  a 
wooden  one.  In  any  case  of  this  kind,  without  making 
an  investigation  as  to  the  causes,  the  effect  having 
occurred,  the  first  person  usually  censured  is  the  dealer. 
No  arguments  on  earth  wiU  persuade  the  purchaser 
that  it  aose  from  any  other  cause  than  the  dealer 
having  sold  him  a  vicious  horse,  and  he  will  probably 
feel  further  convinced  that  he  knew  he  was  so;  in 
short,  whatever  failing  a  horse  may  exhibit  aftfer  being 
purchased,  whether  it  be  in  soundness,  temper,  consti- 
tution or  anything,  deservedly  or  not,  the  dealer  is  sure 


tiO 


DRIVING    AS    I    FOUND    IT. 


to  be  set  down  for  a  rogue.  I  will  mention  a  case  that 
occurred  to  myself  not  many  months  since.  A  well-known 
gentleman  living  not  twenty  blocks  from  Central  Park 
requested  me  to  get  Mm  a  horse  to  match  the  one  he 
had.  It  was  a  very  fine  animal,  sixteen  hands  high, 
of  excellent  conformation,  extra  high  action,  showing 
a  great  deal  of  quality  and  a  fair  amount  of  speed. 
Several  horses  were  tried  but  one  could  not  be  g:ot 
to  go  with  him.  At  last,  however,  I  accidentally  met  a 
gentleman  who  was  leaving  town  and  wished  to  dispose 
of  three  horses  and  at  his  invitation  I  went  to  look  at 
them.  One  was  a  very  fine  bay  and  by  his  looks  and 
way  of  going  satisfied  me  that  he  would  make  a  close 
match  for  the  horse  in  question.  I  put  them  together 
and  drove  them  myself  on  three  difi'erent  occasions 
ajid  a  nicer  pair  I  never  wished  to  sit  behind.  The 
gentleman  was  delighted  and  bought  the  horse.  Some 
weeks  after  I  received  a  note  from  him  requesting  me 
to  call  and  see  him.  To  my  astonishment,  he  appeared 
very  much  displeased  with  his  purchase  and  requested 
me  to  sell  the  horse.  In  reply  to  my  question  as  to 
what  was  the  fault  with  him  he  replied:  "Why  a  very 
great  fault,  he  plunges  in  his  harness  and  rears  up 
on  his  hind  legs,  on  one  occasion  getting  across  the 
pole,  and  nearly  smashed  my  carriage  to  pieces,  in  fact, 
my  coachman  is  so  frightened  he  will  not  drive  him 


HORSE  DEALERS.  51 

again."  I  requested  tlie  gentleman  to  accompany  me  to 
his  stable.  He  did  so,  and  mth  his  permission  I  asked 
the  coachman  to  harness  the  pair.  I  saw  where  the 
trouble  was  instantly.  The  harness  was  an  old-fashioned 
set  with  long  bar  bits  and  curb  straps  which  were  short 
and  the  reins  being  buckled  down  in  the  lower  bar 
made  it  very  severe  ui)on  a  high-spirited  horse  with  a 
tender  mouth.  The  horse  became  restiye  before  being 
put  to  the  carriage.  I  took  the  curb  strap  off  altogether 
and  buckled  the  reins  in  the  cheek  ring  and  with  the 
gentleman  on  the  box  beside\me,  drove  out.  The  horse 
acted  splendidly,  indeed  I  could  not  get  him  to  go 
wrong.  The  gentleman  was  satisfied  and  wisely  com 
eluded  to  keep  the  horse  and  dispose  of  the  coach- 
man.   He  certainly  made  a  change  for  the  best. 


52  DRIVING  AS  I  FOUND  IT. 


BUYING  HOKSES. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  horse  dealers  in  New  York  are 
heavily  handicapped  as  to  the  kind  of  horses  they  have 
to  buy.  In  England  horses  that  are  bred  for  carriage 
work  are  allowed  to  run  till  between  three  and  four  years 
of  age.  They  are  then  bitted  and  broken  to  harness 
and  sold  to  dealers,  who  have  every  convenience  to 
finish  their  education.  They  are  driven  every  day  by 
an  experienced  brakesman  through  the  busiest  parts  of 
the  West  End  of  London,  until  they  become  quiet  and 
handy  and  get  accustomed  to  different  objects.  Their 
style  of  going,  the  way  they  carry  their  heads  and  shape 
their  necks  are  (subjects  on  which  no  end  of  time  and 
patience  are  spent  to  make  i)erfect.  The  dealer  now 
considers  them  so,  and  certainly  is  justified  in  put- 
ting them  into  the  hands  of  a  customer  as  a  pair 
of  horses  fit  to  put  to  his  carriage.  But  how 
different  the  process  American  horses  have  to  go 
through. 

They  are  bought  indiscriminately  as  to  age  or  what 
kind  of  work  they  have  been  doing.  Most  of  them  have 
been  worked  since  they  were  able  to  draw.    I  can  leave 


BUYING  HORSES.  55 

my  readers  to  imagine  the  work  usually  done  in  the  West 
by  horses — plowing,  logging  and  other  kinds  of  heavy 
work.  They  are  certainly  quiet  and  used  to  draught, 
but  never  having  had  anything  but  a  plain  ring  snaffle 
to  guide  them,  and  rough  hands  to  handle  them,  are 
hard-mouthed,  misshapen  in  their  conformation  for  car- 
riage work,  and  therefore  more  difficult  to  bit  and  alter 
their  style  and  Avay  of  going  than  the  young  horse  who 
has  done  nothing  but  run  out  since  being  foaled. 
Dealers'  horses,  as  a  rule,  are  or  should  be  kept  fresh 
from  the  time  they  arrive  in  the  city,  tliej  get  just 
enough  exercise  to  keep  them  on  edge.  They  are  un- 
accustomed to  the  paving  stones,  and  everything  is 
strange  to  them.  When  being  shown  to  an  intending 
purchaser  they  are  certainly  shown  to  the  best  advant- 
age; so  in  fact  is  every  other  article  you  purchase.  They 
may  have  been  sick  with  distemper,  pinkeye  or  other 
diseases  which  young  horses  are  liable  to  contract.  As 
soon  as  their  recovery  is  assui'ed  they  are  made  up  for 
the  market,  and  sold  as  soon  as  possible.  Their 
having  been  sick  and  getting  only  moderate  exercise 
necessitates  their  being  kept  on  short  rations,  just 
enough  soft  feed  to  keep  them  looking  well.  After  they 
are  sold,  however,  their  treatment  alters  at  once  un- 
less the  coachman  knows  something,  and  his  employer 
allows  him  to  do  what  he  thinks  right.    They  are  no 


56 


DRIVING    AS    I    FOUND    IT. 


sooner  docked  and  trimmed  up  tlian  thev  are  put  into 
a  lieay^^  carriage,  driven  round  the  Park,  and  most 
likely  further.  They  now  get  oats  three  times 
a  day,  and  like  a  child  with  a  box  of  candy, 
eat  till  they  get  sick.  The  regular  work  is  begin- 
ning to  tell  on  them.  They  get  dull,  their  lack  of 
condition  begins  to  tell,  they  have  no  ambition  to  step, 
and  therefore  lose  whatever  action  they  might  have 
had  when  bought,  and,  excepting  the  horses  were  well 
mated,  of  good  color  and  proper  conformation,  look 
mean  and  worthless.  Many  young  horses  are  ruined 
through  injudicious  driving  and  improper  treatment 
that  would  in  experienced  hands  otherwise  make  up 
into  good,  useful  animals. 

I  venture  to  surmise  that  amongst  my  readers  there 
are  some  who,  when  buying  horses,  have  been  so  im- 
pressed with  their  high  stepping  qualifications  as  to 
lose  sight  of  the  other  points  which  go  to  make  a  per- 
feeti  carriage  horse,  without  taking  into  consideration 
the  forced  state  of  condition  of  the  animal,  or  whether 
he  or  they  are  suitable  for  your  purpose,  even  if  they 
did  not  have  the  extra  high  stepping  qualities.  You 
bought  them  simply  on.a^cpunt  of  their  action  not 
knowing  how  or  from  what  cause  that  action  was  pro- 
duced, and  after  working  them  a  short  time  have  be- 
come disgusted  with-yom'  purchase  because,  they  having 


BUYING  HORSES.  57 

lost  the  courage  and  ambition,  as  well  as  action  they 
had  when  bought,  being  ignorant  of  the  cause,  you 
either  blame  yourself  for  buying  them  or  blame  the 
dealer  for  ha\ing  deceived  you. 

I  once  heard  a  lady  remark  to  her  coachman,  "  Robert 
the  horses  don't  step  near  so  high  as  they  did  when  we 
bought  them.  Do  you  suppose  the  dealer  put  anything 
into  their  feet  to  make  them  act?"  Noav,  I  -dare  say  this 
question  has  been  asked  more  than  once,  and  some 
people  are  stupid  enough  to  imagine  that  the  dealers  use 
artificial  means  to  make  their  horses  step  high  whilst 
being  sold,  but  I  can  assure  my  readers  they  who  im- 
agine so  are  wrong  in  their  surmises. 

The  wealthy  people  of  New  York  are  not  so  fortunate 
as  their  friends  in  equal  circumstances  in  the  large 
cities  of  Europe,  who  can  go  to  any  one  of  the  several 
large  sale  stables  and  select  a  pair  of  horses  which,  if 
they  buy,  they  will  find  are  not  only  well  matched  and 
thoroughly  broken,  but  have  good  manners  and  fine 
mouths  and  every  other  essential  point  that  time,  pa- 
tience and  experienced  handling  could  effect.  How  dif- 
ferent the  experience  of  buyers  of  such  horses  in  New 
York!  I  have  known  a  dozen  different  pairs  of  horses 
sent  to  an  intending  buyer  and  all  returned  as  unsatis- 
factory through  some  defect,  difference  in  size,  color, 
way  of  going  or  whatever  it  might  be^  which  the  dealer 


58  DRIVING    AS    I    FOUND    IT. 

perhaps  never  noticed,  and  even  if  he  did,  in  some  cases 
would  not  know  how  to  remedy.  Some  people  are  much 
easier  suited  than  others  and  will  go  to  a  dealer  and  buy 
a  pair  of  horses  j^roviding  they  look  alike  in  color  and 
size  and  the  price  mo<lerate;  they  not  having  the  slight- 
est thought  of  any  other  indispensable  qualifications 
desirable  in  a  carriage  horse.  Even  the  dealer  himself 
unless  he  has  had  a  long  practical  experience  with  such 
kind  of  horses,  cannot  be  expected  to  know  what  is 
necessary  to  be  done  to  make  up  a  pair  of  horses  so  that 
they  are  ready  for  use,  go  handsomely  and  carry  you 
safely  and  pleasantly. 

I  have  sa;d  that  all  horses  are  not  made  alike.  The 
way  in  which  a  horse  would  in  a  natural  state  carry 
himself  depends  wholly  on  how  he  is  made,  and  how  he 
will  carry  his  head  depends  on  how  that  head  is  put 
on  to  his  neck  and  how  the  neck  is  put  into  his  chest 
and  shoulders.  The  mouth  in  its  natural  state  has,  of 
course,  nothing  to  do  with  this,  but  when  we  take  him 
in  hand  it  is  by  acting  on  his  mouth  alone  that  we  must 
trust  to  bring  the  head  and  neck  into  proper  position; 
indeed  it  is  aeting  on  the  mouth  that  enables  us  to  per- 
fect the  general  carriage  of  the  body  and  to  alter,  if 
necessary,  the  whole  system  of  going.  It  may  be  said 
that  the  mouth  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  natural  for- 
mation of  the  neck.    This  is  true,  but  it  has  a  great  deal 


BUYING  HORSES. 


59 


to  do,  not  only  with  the  way  in  which  that  neck  is 
carried,  but  positively — to  a  certain  degree — altering 
this  natural  formation. 

This  is  all  Oreek  to  those  horse  dealers  in  this  city 
who  buy  and  sell  horses  like  shoestrings,  for  a  small 
profit.  But  to  tliose  dealers  who  buy  slowly  and  make 
a  businei^s  of  matching  horses  as  they  should  be  matched, 
aud  bit  and  drive  them  until  they  become  perfect,  these 
few  words  of  advice  will  not  be  thrown  away. 


60 


DRIVING    AS    I    FOUND    IT. 


HIGH  STEPPERS. 

A  roadster  good,  not  straddling  high, 

Nor  shuffling  low  I  find  thee, 
But  stepping  straight  and  cheerily 

Dost  leave  the  miles  behind  thee. 

It  is  considered  by  some  persons  the  height  of  per- 
fection and  style  to  have  a  horse  with  a  high  knee 
action ;  so  it  is,  providing  he  acts  all  round  and  in  every 
other  way  shows  quality,  but  merely  lifting  his  fi'ont 
feet  higher  off  the  ground  than  another  horse,  does  not 
constitute  a  high-stepping  horse  in  the  proper  sense  of 
the  word.  A  horse  that  has  more  than  ordinary  action 
in  front  should  have  the  same  behind  in  proper  propor- 
tion to  make  it  natural.  I  must  admit  there  are  very 
few  that  come  up  to  this  standard.  It  looks  ridiculous 
to  see  a  horse  go  along  picking  his  front  feet  off  the 
ground  like  a  cat  on  hot  bricks,  at  the  same  time  shuf- 
fling the  hind  ones  along  the  road.  A  horse  that  acts 
this  way,  except  in  very  rare  cases,  has  speed,  but  is  gen- 
erally too  slow"  for  ordinary  carriage  work,  the  reason 
being  that  the  horse  obtains  his  propelling  power  from 
the  hind  legs,  and  the  higher  he  picks  them  up  w^hen 
going  the  further  he  strides.    Take  for  instance  the 


HIGH  STEPPERS.  63 

"Devil,"  a  black  horse  o^Tied  by  Mr.  Stokes,  tv ell- 
known  to  most  horsemen  in  New-York.  He  is  far  away 
the  best  all  round  going  horse  iii  New  York,  and  I  be- 
lieve can  trot  close  to  three  minutes.  I  have  seen  horses 
that  go  higher  in  front,  but  when  urged  to  their  utmost, 
could  only  go  eight  or  ten  miles  an  hour,  because  they  did 
not  have  the  necessary  amount  of  action  with  the  hind 
legs. 

There  is  a  diversity  of  opinion  as  to  what  constitutes 
pretty  action,  and  each  man  may  harmlessly  indulge 
his  taste  in  this  particular,  but  there  should  be  but  one 
opinion  as  to  what  is  proper  action.  Some  horses  step 
short  when  going  and  bend  the  knee  under  the  body, 
doubling  the  legs  up  in  a  circular  style,  and  bring  them 
down  heavily,  bringing  the  weight  of  the  shoulders 
with  them;  these  are  called  "Pounders,"  and  soon  lose 
their  action,  besides  getting  sore  and  fever-footed. 
These  kind  rarely  step  true,  either  dishing  a  little  out- 
ward or  inward,  in  some  cases  causing  them  to  interfere. 
By  weighting  and  pro]>er  shoeing  these  faults  can  some- 
times be  rectified. 

The  true-actioned  horse  steps  from  the  shoulder,  bends 
the  knee  in  front,  and  steps  out  gracefully,  bringing 
them  down  light  and  easy.  It  is  but  natural  for  a  horse 
of  proper  conformation  to  do  so,  and  so  long  as  he  is 
kept  in  high  condition,  does  not  get  too  much  work,  but 


64 


DRIVING    AS    I    FOUND    IT. 


sufficient  to  keep  him  in  exercise,  will  always  retain  the 
same  amount  of  action,  and  if  a  young  horse,  can  be 
made  to  improve  if  driven  by  an  experienced  coachman. 
Flashy  going  horses,  with  extra  high  action,  are  not 
adapted  for  hard  work  or  rough  roads.  They  tire  sooner 
than  i>lain  goers.  To  those  persons  who  ovm  and  drive 
high  steppers  I  advise  them  to  work  them  as  little  as 
possible  on  the  pavements  and  drive  them  moderately 
on  the  road.  Never  drive  them  at  top  speed,  but  let 
them  go  a  little  within  themselves,  the  principal  thing 
being  to  keep  them  in  good  condition.  High  feeding 
and  good  care  is  the  mainspring  from  which  they  obtain 
the  courage  and  good  spirits  that  tends  more  than  any- 
thing else  to  make  them  step. 


CAPPERS.  65 


CAPPERS. 

There  are  no  class  of  men  so  useful  to  intending  pur- 
chasers of  horses  as  a  respectable  capper,  one  who  ob- 
tains a  livelihood  selecting  horses  and  finding  custom- 
ers for  them.  To  some  persons  the  name  will  no  doubt 
imply  something  wrong  or  illegitimate  in  regard  to 
buying  and  selling  horses,  but  I  can  assure  my  readers 
that  it  is  often  through  the  judgment  and  experience 
of  these  men  the  driving  i)ublic  are  enable<l  to  obtain 
matched  pairs  and  extra  good  carriage  horses  at  reason- 
able prices.  Only  for  the  class  of  people  amongst  whom 
they  have  to  associate,  and  the  line  of  stock  in  which 
they  trade,  I  cannot  see  any  difference  between  them 
and  stock  brokers.  They  buy  from  one  and  sell  to 
another,  and  \ice  versa,  in  most  cases  by  request  at  a 
margin  or  commission,  in  fact  cappers  are  m  my  opinion 
more  useful  to  those  Avho  buy  horses  than  brokers  are 
to  those  who  buy  stocks,  for  the  simple  reason  that 
cappers  are  scarce,  while  brokers  are  plentiful.  Cap- 
pers are  in  every  way  as  necessary  to  dealers  as  to 
buyers,  they  being  acquainted  with  eveiy  sale  stable, 
and  constantly  moving  from  one  to  another,  they  note 


66  DRIVING    AS    I    FOUND    IT. 

every  horse  of  quality  in  each,  which  often  enables 
dealers  to  match  horses  and  make  pairs.  Buyers  can 
save  themselves  a  great  deal  of  unnecessary  trouble  by 
employing  one  of  these  men,  for  knowing  everything  in 
the  market,  they  can  show  you  whatever  kind  of  horse 
you  may  require,  and  their  judgment  is  generally  good. 
If  you  go  into  a  dealer's  stable  by  yourself  you  will 
perhaps  be  persuaded  to  buy  a  pair  of  horses  that  will 
not  really  suit,  you  buy  them  thinking  perhaps  you  can 
do  no  better  elsewhere,  whereas  there  might  be  horses 
in  the  market  that  would  suit  your  purpose  better,  if 
you  only  knew  where  to  find  them.  It  is  therefore  ad- 
visable to  secure  the  services  of  some  one  who  can  be 
depended  upon  to  select  horses  which,  in  the  first  place, 
are  suitable  for  the  desired  pui-pose,  providing  that  the 
person  is  one  who  is  known  to  have  had  practice  and 
experience  among  high  class  carriage  horses,  and  who 
knoAvs  how  to  put  them  together  and  drive  them.  Unless 
he  does,  it  is  next  to  impossible  for  him  to  tell  whether 
they  are  the  rght  kind.  There  are  many  different  kinds 
of  horses,  and  as  many  different  kinds  of  vehicles  for 
bhem  to  draw.  It  is  therefore  most  essential  that  some 
one,  be  he  buyer,  dealer,  capper  or  coachman,  should 
know  for  which  each  is  most  suitable.  AVhat  I  wish  to 
point  out  is  this  a  man  may  be  a  very  good  judge  of  one 
description  of  horse  and  for  the  purpose  for  which  he  is 


CAPPERS.  07 

required,  and  be  ignorant  of  the  merits  and  good  quali- 
ties of  another  kind.  Every  man  to  his  trade,  and  there 
are  several  branches  in  the  horse  business,  each  one 
requiring  a  lifetime  of  study  and  experience  to  become 
competent.  As  an  illustration,  a  man  might  be  an  ex- 
cellent judge  of  a  draft  horse  and  be  totalh^  ignorant  of 
the  points  of  a  race  horse,  and  a  good  judge  of  a  trotter, 
yet  be  absolutely  lost  in  the  selection  of  a  coach  horse. 
I  advise  those  wishing  to  obtain  a  good  horse  to  trust 
to  the  judgment  of  a  recognized  representative  of  each 
class.  It  is  much  better  to  employ  a  capper  who  will, 
for  his  OAvn  reputation — being  indiiferent  as  to  what 
dealer  you  purchase  from — than  to  trust  to  a  friend  or 
amateur  horseman  who  believes  himself  to  be  a  good 
judge.  In  nine  cases  out  of  ten  the  latter,  whoever  he 
might  be,  will  more  likely,  in  his  ignorance,  prevent 
your  buying  a  good  horse  that  would  suit  you  and  be  of 
good  service. 

According  as  the  revival  of  fashionable  turnouts  de- 
mands the  use  of  coach  horses  to  replace  the  long- 
legged,  lofty,  rangy  sort  that  were  formerly  used,  there 
are  other  and  more  important  points  besides  to  consider. 
A  man  w^ho  all  his  life  has  been  used  to  ride  in  low- 
seated  wagons  witli  pole  and  yoke,  and  drive  horses 
suited  to  such,  cannot  possibly  have  much  conception 
of  the  kind  of  horses  that  are  suitable  for  the  present 


68 


DRIVING    AS    I    FOUND    IT. 


kind  of  vehicles  used.  If  I  were  coimnissioned  by  a 
person  to  get  a  fast  trotting  liorse  I  should  not  under- 
take to  fill  the  order  without  going  to  some  horseman 
whom  I  knew  AAas  a  thorough  judge  of  trotters.  How  a 
man  who  has  been  used  to  handling  nothing  but  trotters 
should  be  considered  an  expert,  and  his  judgment  re- 
quired to  buy  coach  horses,  is  entirely  beyond  my  field 
of  comprehension.  These  are  the  kind  of  men  who, 
whenever  describing  the  qualities  of  a  horse  they  have 
for  sale,  never  fail  to  assure  the  intending  buyer  that  he 
can  go  a  three-minute  gait.  Whenever  the  mention  of 
speed  is  so  forcibly  brought  into  requisition  as  the 
chief  quality  of  the  horse,  it  is  time  for  the  buyer  to  look 
elsewhere  for  a  dealer,  who  thinlvs  more  of  the  points 
and  appearance  of  the  horses  he  keeps  for  coach  or 
carriage  work.  No  one  with  any  common  sense  wants 
or  expects  to  be  driven  tAventy  miles  an  hour  through 
the  park.  If  they  ride  along  a  six-minute  gait  they  will 
find  it  quite  fast  enough  for  towTi  or  park  driving,  and 
in  the  next  place  trotting  gaited  horses  are  unsuitable 
and  entirely  out  of  ]ilace  in  a  carriage.  They  are,  as  a 
rule,  hard  mouthed,  long- gaited,  and  therefore  awkward 
in  turning  and  unsafe  to  drive  on  the  stones  or  asphalt 
pavements. 


FEEDING.  69 


FEEDING. 

"Bone  and  muscle  go  in  at  tlie  mouth." 

The  proper  feeding  of  horses  intended  for  driving  is 
of  the  utmost  importance,  and  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  it 
is  very  much  neglected.  As  a  general  thing  a  horse 
gets  four  quarts  of  oats  three  times  a  day  and  a  fork  of 
hay  at  night  with  perhaps  a  bran  mash  once  or  twice  a 
week.  All  horses  not  being  alike  in  their  constitution  or 
appetite  it  is  quite  natural  that  what  will  fatten  one 
will  not  fatten  another. 

Good  feeders  or  greedy  horses  should  have  their  oats 
mixed  with  chaff  (cut  hay).  By  this  means  the  animal 
is  compelled  to  chew  his  food 'as  the  chaft  being  too  hard 
and  sharp  to  be  swallowed  with  sufficient  mastica- 
tion, he  is  forced  to  grind  that  do^Ti,  the  oats  and  corn 
are  consequently  ground  down  with  it  and  yield  much 
more  nourishment.  The  stomach  is  more  slowly  filled 
and  therefore  acts  better  on  its  contents,  and  is  not  so 
likely  to  be  overloaded.  The  increased  quantity  of  saliva 
thrown  out  and  the  lengthened  mastication  of  the  food 
softens  it,  and  makes  it  more  easy  of  digestion.    It  is 


70  DRIVING  AS  I  FOUND  IT. 

necessary  that  the  hay  selected  to  be  cut  be  of  good 
quality  and  clean.  It  is  not  advisable  to  use  the  baled 
hay,  as  it  is  generally  dusty.  Horses  of  weal:  digeslion  or 
defective  teeth  will  improve  on  this  kind  of  feeding, 
especially  if  the  oats  are  bruised. 

The  mixture  of  chaff  with  the  oats  prevents  it  from 
being  too  rapidly  devoured  and  a  portion  of  it  swallowed 
whole,  and  therefore  the  stomach  is  not  too  much  loaded. 
It  is  on  the  food  that  contains  the  most  nutriment  that 
the  chief  digestive  power  should  be  exerted.  Yet,  on  the 
whole,  a  great  deal  of  time  is  gained  by  this  mode  of 
feeding  and  more  is  left  for  rest.  When  a  horse  comes 
in  wearied  or  tired  it  takes,  after  he  has  eaten  his  grain, 
two  or  three  hours  to  clear  his  hay  rack.  On  the  system 
of  manger  feed,  the  chaff  being  already  cut  into  small 
pieces  and  the  corn  and  oats  biuised,  he  is  able  fully  to 
satisfy  his  appetite  in  an  hour.  But  if  the  hay-rack  is 
full  the  greedy  horse  will  be  eating  all  night  instead  of 
taking  rest.  When  the  time  for  the  morning  feed  ar- 
rives his  stomach  will  be  already  filled,  and  he  will  be 
less  capable  of  work,  from  the  want  of  sleep  and  from 
the  long  continued  distension  uf  the  stomach  rending  it 
impossible  for  his  food  to  be  properly  digested.  Two 
additional  hours  will  therefore  be  devoted  to  rest.  This 
is  a  circumstance  deserving  of  much  consideration  even 
in  the  private  stable,  and  of  immense  consequence  to  the 


FEEDING.  71 

livery  stable-keeper  and  the  owner  of  every  hard-worked 
horse.  The  quantity  of  oats  must  vary  with  the  size 
and  the  work  to  be  performed. 

Bran  or  the  ground  husk  of  the  wheat  is  useful  as  an 
occasional  ai)erient  in  the  form  of  a  mash  made  with 
boiling  hot  water.  Before  using  allow  it  time  to  steam 
through,  and  if  mixed  with  an  equal  quantity  of  bruised 
oats  is  very  beneficial  for  horses  suffering  from  cold  or 
cough  or  to  build  them  up  when  recovering  from  sick- 
ness, but  it  is  wrong  to  use  it  as  a  regular  article  of  food, 
as  is  often  the  case.  Frequent  cases  of  indigestion  are 
caused  from  the  accumulation  of  bran  in  the  large  in- 
testines, and  when  wetted  with  cold  water  it  is  positive- 
ly injurious. 

The  virtues  of  carrots  are  not  sufficiently  known, 
whether  it  be  in  contributing  to  the  streiigth  and  en- 
durance of  the  sound  horse,  or  the  rapid  recovery  of  the 
sick  one.  To  the  healthy  horse  they  sliould  be  given 
sliced,  in  his  chaff.  They  also  imx»rove  the  state  of  his 
skin,  forming  a  good  substitute  for  grass,  and  an  excel- 
lent food  for  horses  out  of  condition.  To  sick  and  idle 
horses  they  render  grain  unnecessary;  and  are  not  only 
serviceable  in  diseases  of  the  skin,  but  liave  a  marked 
influence  on  chronic  coughs  and  broken  wind.  In  com- 
bination with  oats  they  restore  a  worn-out  horse  much 
sooner  than  oats  alone. 


<  ^  DRIVING  AS  I  FOUND  IT. 

The  time  of  feedinj^  sLould  be  hk  equally  divided  as 
convenience  will  permit.  When  it  is  likely  that  the 
horse  will  be  kept  longer  than  usual  from  home  the  nose- 
bag should  invariably  be  taken.  The  small  stomach  of 
the  horse  is  emptied  in  a  few  hours,  and  if  it  is  allowed 
to  remain  hungry  much  beyond  the  accustomed  time  he 
will  afterwards  devour  his  food  so  voraciously  as  to  dis- 
tend his  stomach  and  endanger  his  system  generally. 

One  of  the  most  successful  methods  of  enabling  a 
horse  to  get  well  through  a  long  journey  is  to  give  him 
only  a  little  at  a  time  while  on  the  road  and  at  night  to 
indulge  him  with  a  double  feed  of  grain  and  a  full  al- 
lowance of  hay  or  chaff. 


SHOEING. 


73 


SHOEmO. 

Far  more  than  is  generally  imagined  does  the  com- 
fort and  health  of  the  horse  and  the  safety  of  his  rider 
depend  upon  shoeing.  Horses  used  for  carriage  or  light 
harness  work  should  have  plain  slioes  on  the  fore  feet, 
and  they  should  never  be  heavier  than  the  work  re- 
quires. An  ounce  or  two  in  the  weight  of  the  shoe  .will 
tell  greatly  at  the  end  of  a  hard  day's  work.  Having  the 
front  shoes  turned  up,  or  calldns  as  some  do,  prevents 
the  horse  from  obtaining  the  assistance  that  nature  pro- 
vided in  the  frog,  which  must  be  left  so  far  projecting 
and  prominent  that  it  will  be  just  within  and  at  the 
lower  surface  of  the  shoe.  It  then  descends  with  the 
sole  sufficiently  to  discharge  the  function  that  it  was  in- 
tended to  do.  If  it  is  lower  then  it  will  be  bruised  and 
injured;  if  it  is  higher  it  cannot  come  in  contact  with 
the  ground,  and  thus  be  enabled  to  do  its  duty.  Coach- 
men who  cannot  drive  horses  shod  plain  in  front  with 
perfect  safety  should  seek  some  other  mode  of  obtaining 
a  livelihood. 

The  hind  limbs  of  a  horse  being  the  principal  leverage 
in  propulsion,  except  in  walking,  the  toe  is  the  point  on 


74  DRIVING  AS  I  FOUND  IT. 

which  the  whole  frame  of  the  animal  turns  and  from 
which  it  is  propelled.  This  part,  therefore,  should  be 
strengthened  as  much  as  possible,  and  the  hinder  shoes 
are  consequently  made  broader  at  the  toe  than  the  fore 
shoes.  Another  good  effect  that  is  produced  by  this  is 
that  the  hinder  foot  being  shortened  there  is  less  danger 
of  over  reaching  or  forging,  especially  if  the  shoe  is 
wider  on  the  foot  surface  than  on  the  ground.  The  shoe 
is  thus  made  to  slope  inward,  and  is  a  little  within  the 
toe  of  the  crust. 

In  assisting  horses  in  drawing  heavy-  weights  up-hill 
a  very  great  deal  may  be  done  in  a  way  that  is  very)  often 
overlooked,  viz.,  by  a  proper  hind  shoe.  Horses  used  for 
harness  work  should  have  calkins  on  their  hind  shoe  be- 
cause the  animal  w  ill  be  thus  enabled  to  dig  his  toe  more 
firmly  into  the  ground  and  push  himself  forward,  thus 
throwing  his  weight  into  the  collar  with  greater  ad- 
vantage. The  calkins  however  must  not  be  too  high, 
and  they  must  be  of  an  equal  height  on  each  heel  other- 
wise the  weight  Tvill  not  be  fairly  distributed  over  the 
foot,  consequently  some  part  of  the  foot  or  leg  will 
naturally  suffer.. 

I  doubt  not  that  many  of  my  readers  when  riding  on  a 
coach  going  up-hill  have  observed  the  leaders,  who  ought 
to  be  called  upon  pretty  freely  at  such  times,  and  no- 
ticed the  twisting  of  their  hocks  and  indeed  the  whole 


SHOEING.  75 

leg  from  side  to  side.    This  cMefly  arises  from  the  bad 
form  of  the  shoe.    It  is  quite  clear  that  in  going  up 
steep  hills  the  toe  of  the  hind  foot  takes  the  first  bearing 
on  the  ground;  indeed  some  horses  on  these  occasion! 
hardly  press  the  ground  with  their  heel  at  all.    It  must 
be  quite  evident  that  the  greater  expanse  of  bearing  we 
give  a  foot  on  the  earth  the  firmer  must  be  the  tread, 
and  as  the  hind  foot  is  the  great  fulcrum  by  which  a 
horse  gets  uphill  with  a  load,  too  much  attention  cannot 
be  given  to  effect  the  fii-mest  hold  for  it.    The  toes  of 
shoes  are  very  naturally  made  round  or  nearly  so,  the 
consequence  of  this  is  that  the  horse's  toe  comes  to  the 
ground  on  a  very  small  segment  of  a  circle;  in  fact  on  a 
pivot,  the  effect  of  which  is  that  the  foot  turns  to  the 
right  and  left  and  the  legs  and  hocks  naturally  turn  with 
the  turn  of  the  foot.    This  of  course  jjroduces  the  twist- 
ing of  the  hocks  I  allude  to,  and  the  leg  not  being  able 
to  keep  straight  the  horse  loses  a  large  portion  of  his 
power.      Spavins,  curbs,  thoropins  and  strained  liga- 
ments are  the  future  and  fatigue  the  immediate  conse- 
quence of  such  neglect.  The  shoe  should  be  made  square 
at  the  toe,  to  the  very  extreme  verge  of  the  foot.    Sure- 
ly it  is  worth  the  trouble  to  see  that  a  horse  is  properly 
shod  when  we  can  increase  his  powers  and  comfort  so 
much  by  doing  so. 


DRIVING  AS  I  FOUND  IT. 


THE  AUCTION  MARTS. 

The  auction  mart  conducted  as  it  ought  to  be  is  a  fair 
place  to  either  buy  or  sell  horses,  but  a  concern  which 
depends  chiefly  upon  its  OTv^l  animals  really  hangs  out 
the  red  flag  simply  as  a  disguise.  It  is  unfair  to  both 
buyer  and  seller.  A  person  may  possibly  wish  to  dis- 
pose of  a  horse  or  some  other  property;  and  if  the  sale  is 
legitimately  conducted  the  highest  bidder  obtains,  but 
if  it  is  sent  to  a  mock  auction  mart  the  firm  buys  all  the 
bargains  for  themselves.  They  will  know  more  about 
them  than  any  intending  buyer,  having  a  better  chance 
to  find  out  and  try  them.  If  they  think  they  will 
suit  they  are  shown  to  a  disadvantage  the  first  time  of 
offering  and  consequently  knocked  down  cheap  to  a 
representative  of  the  firm.  Neither  the  seller  nor  the 
public  get  any  benefit^  the  concern  gets  all.  But  how 
different  the  following  sale  day!  If  it  be  a  horse  it  is 
shown  with  an  appropriate  harness  in  a  suitable  vehicle, 
and  the  public  are  then  given  plenty  of  time  to  bid.  I 
don't  wish  to  imply  that  the  purchaser,  whoever  he 
might  be,  is  swindled,  what  I  wish  to  infer  is  that  the 
seller  got  less  than  he  really  would  if  his  horse  had  been 


THE  AUCTON  MARTS.  77 

shown  under  the  same  advantageous  circumstances,  and 
the  buyer  paid  more  than  he  wouhl  if  the  horse  had 
not  been  so  well  advertised  and  shown.  Each  one  lost 
money,  and  yet  the  horse  brought  in  most  cases  double 
the  amount  of  what  the  original  owner  obtained  for  him, 
showing  clearly  that  the  concern  got  the  most  profit. 
Anyone  wih  ordinary  intelligence  can  see  this  thing  en- 
acted every  week  in  tliis  city.  There  are  times  when  a 
person  can  get  a  really  cheap  horse,  but  it  requires 
knowledge,  good  judgment  and  the  courage  to  bid.  I 
bought  one  of  the  best  horses  I  ever  owned  at  an  auction. 
The  previous  owner  of  the  animal,  who  I  should  imagine 
was  ignorant  of  the  regular  mode  of  entering  a  horse  for 
sale,  did  not  guarantee  the, horse  in  any  way,  in  fact  the 
horse  was  put  up  with  the  understanding  that  he  was  to 
be  sold  as  he  stood,  or,  to  use  the  auctioneer's  expression, 
"not  warranted  to  be  alive."  But  happening  to  be  in 
the  neighborhood  of  the  auction  the  day  previous  to  the 
sale  I  noticed  a  dark  chestnut  horse  hitched  to  a  buggy 
being  driven  up  and  doAvn  the  block.  The  horse  went 
wonderfully  well,  and  on  the  following  day  I  recognized 
the  same  horse  being  put  up  for  sale.  Having  such  an 
unsavory  pedigree  the  bidding  was  slow,  and  just  as  he 
was  about  to  be  knocked  down  I  bid  and  I  soon  began  to 
find  I  was  bidding  against  the  house,  or  more  pointedly, 
the  auction  concern  wanted  him  themselves.    I  made  up 


78  DRIVING    AS    I    FOTJND    IT. 

my  mind  to  have  him  and  bought  him  for  $125  and  a 
very  cheap  horse  he  turned  out  to  be.  He  was  six  years 
old,  perfectly  sound  and  I  could  not  hitch  him  wrong. 
Good  under  saddle,  and  he  could  trot  close  to  three 
minutes;  in  fact  he  was  a  perfect  all-round  horse.  Dur- 
ing the  time  I  was  bidding  a  well  dressed  man  who 
stood  close  to  me  made  the  remark:  "Why,  that  is  the 
horse  that  ran  away  with  a  lady,  he  looks  like  a  bad 
one,"  but  his  person  looked  familiar  to  me  and  I  came  to 
the  conclusion  that  he  Avas  a  steerer  employed  by  cer- 
tain individuals  to  try  to  stop  anyone  outside  of  the  con- 
cern buying  and  therefore  took  no  notiec  of  him. 

Persons  unaccustomed  to  the  roguery  and  tricks  em- 
ployed at  these  auctions  should  be  very  careful  when 
selling  any  article  to  properly  specify  the  relative  merits 
of  whatever  they  might  enter  for  sale  and  personally  at- 
tend the  day  of  sale  if  convenient  or  have  some  au- 
thorized agent  go  there  and  note  that  the  entry  gets 
proper  attention.  To  those  who  wish  to  purchase  I  ad- 
vise them  to  find  out,  if  practicable,  the  legitimate 
owner,  and  if  it  is  a  private  person  who  sells  through 
want  of  use  you  can  then  bid  with  safety  what  you 
think  is  a  fair  price.  Always  be  careful  to  avoid  trying 
to  buy  a  horse  that  belongs  to  a  dealer  or  especially  one 
in  which  the  concern  is  interested  as  you  will  in  all 
probability  get  the  worst  of  the  deal. 


HORSE  SHOWS.  81 


HORSE  SHOWS. 

The  large  attendance  as  well  as  the  number  of  ex- 
hibitors at  the  recent  horse  show  at  Madison  Squai'e 
Garden  proved  conclusivelj"  ^e  great  interest  the 
American  public  takes  in  the  horse  of  every  descrip- 
tion. If  the  annual  show  is  run  as  it  ought  to  be,  in  a 
fair  and  impartial  manner,  it  will  conduce  more  than 
anything  else  not  only  to  enlighten  but  to  create  a  cer- 
tain amount  of  hbnest  and  healthy  rivalry  among  the 
owners  and  lovers  of  this  most  useful  animal  to  own 
and  breed  the  best. 

There  were,  unfortunately,  good  reasons  for  the  dis- 
satisfaction shown  not  only  by  the  public  but  by  the 
exhibitors  themselves  in  several  classes.  I  do  not  in- 
tend to  go  into  all  details  respecting  the  judging,  but 
may  mention  one  or  two  cases  which  I  particularly  no- 
ticed as  being  wrong  to  the  exhibitors,  showing  lack 
of  knowledge  on  the  part  of  the  judges  or  perhaps  dis- 
criminating favors.  The  first  point  to  consider  before 
criticising  or  condemning  is  whether  the  judges  were 
competent  to  fulfill  the  duties  imposed  upon  them.  If 
not,  the  blame  falls  on  those  who  selected  them  to  fill 


S2  DRIVING  AS  I  FOUND  IT. 

such  an  important  position.  From  personal  experi- 
ence during  tlie  last  show,  I  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  personal  merits  of  the  owners  and  their  rela- 
tion with  the  Association  were  considered  more  than 
rhe  merits  of  the  horses  they  exhibited.  In  one  class 
I  noticed  a  good  deal  of  indecision  on  the  part  of  the 
judges  as  to  which  was  the  best  horse,  and  they  could 
not  decide  until  they  referred  to  the  catalogue,  and  I 
audibly  heard  the  remark:    "Give   it  to  those;  they 

belong  to  Mr.  ." 

The  most  farcical  part  of  the  whole  performance  was 
enacted  in  the  class  for  tandems,  where  a  pair  of  ponies 
driven  by  a  gentleman  connected  ^\ith  the  Association 
was  awarded  a  ribbon  over  one  that  on  the  following 
day  deservedly  got  the  highest  reward  as  the  best  in 
the  show.  "In  and  out"  judging  like  the  above,  no 
mattei*  whether  through  ignorance  or  personal  feeling, 
does  more  to  injure  the  development  of  horse  shows 
than  anything  else.  The  horse-loving  public  go  to  see 
and  learn  what  is  considered  the  best  tandem.  How  is 
it  possible  to  do  this  when  one  day  a  pair  of  ponies 
beats  a  pair  of  horses  and  the  next  day  these  same 
pair  of  horses  beat  the  pair  of  ponies?  The  only  stand- 
ard that  should  be  recognized  and  the  one  that  will 
tend  to  popularize  a  horse  show  is  that  of  merit.  The 
owner  has  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  it,  or  ought  not 


HORSE  SHOWS.  83 

to  have  if  the  judges  were  impartial  as  well  as  com- 
petent. 

There  was  a  marked  diversity  of  opinion  upon  the 
awarding  of  the  prize  for  professional  coachman.  The 
one  selected  certainly  had  no  riglit  to  it  for  the  simple 
reason  he  did  not  drive  the  course  laid  out.  After 
making  the  figure  eight,  his  hands  being  on  a  level 
with  his  eliest,  through  putting  on  too  much  side,  he 
found  too  mucli  rein  to  alter  quickly,  so  instead  of  go- 
ing between  the  post  and  stand  he  came  straight  down 
and  finished.  Besides  this  it  was  unfair  to  allow 
him  to  use  a  skeleton  brake  to  compete  with 
coachmen  handicapped  with  ,  a  drag  which  takes 
twice  the  amount  of  room  to  turn  in,  and  strange  to 
say  the  only  coachman  competing  in  this  class  who 
utterly  failed  to  show  any  ability  with  a  team,  in  fact, 
the  only  one  out  of  seven  who  had  the  honor  of  knocking 
over  a  post,  was  awarded  the  prize  the  next  day  for 
pair-horse  coachmen.  Besides  this  he  was  competing 
against  the  same  men  who  the  day  previous  outclassed 
him  in  every  respect.  In  the  face  of  such  a  decision, 
what  contempt  must  the  driving  public  have  for  it,  and 
those  who  are  not  so  well  posted  must  conclude  that 
the  safest  way  of  receiving  the  blue  rosette,  is  one  of 
incompetency.  Private  coachmen  should  not  have 
been  allowed  to  compete.    They  should  have  been  or- 


84 


DRIVING    AS    I    FOUND    IT. 


dered  out  of  the  ]*ing,  for,  according  to  the  reading  of 
the  entry  (for  professional  coachmen),  they  were  en- 
tirely out  of  their  class.  It  is  therefore  next  to  im- 
l)0ssible  to  expect  fair  and  impartial  judging  from  those 
who  axe  not  only  deficient  themselves  in  all  that  is  requi- 
site to  be  a  coachman,  but  are  entirely-  ignorant  of  the 
difference  in  classes  of  which  they  are  supposed  to  be 
experts. 


WHAT  TO  DRIVE.  85 


WHAT  TO  DRIVE. 

I  may  surprise  some  of  my  readers  who  have  been 
driving  perhaps  for  several  years  and  who  believe  chat 
they  are  perfect,  having  notliing  to  learn,  if  I  inform 
them  that  being  able  to  drive  well  does  not  make  them 
coachmen  any  more  than  being  able  to  drive  a  fire 
engine  makes  a  man  an  engineer.  There  is  nothing, 
in  my  opinion,  looks  more  ridicnlous  than  to  see,  as 
is  often  the  case,  persons  driving  a  cart  with  a  horse 
entirely  out  of  proportion  to  the  size  of  the  cart,  the 
harness  ill  fitting  and  not  in  its  proper  place.  The 
pad  (or  saddle),  in  most  cases,  instead  of  being  on  the 
horse's  back  forward  on  the  withers,  the  crupper 
strap  too  long,  the  collar  too  big,  and,  worst  of  all, 
the  cart  not  properly  balanced,  causing  the  occupants 
to  pitch  backward  and  forward  in  the  most  uncom- 
fortable manner.  This  is  no  fault  of  the  cart,  but  the 
fault  of  those  who  drive  not  knowing  whether  the 
height  of  the  shafts  and  wheels  are  in  proper  proper- 
tion  to  the  size  of  the  horse  and  the  body  weight  of  the 
cart  in  order  to  have  it  properly  balanced.  Properly 
balancinoj  a  cart  insures  ease  and  comfort  to  the  oc- 


86  DRIVING  AS  I  FOUND  IT. 

ciipants,  and  makes  the  work  much  lif^hter  for  the  liorse. 
Some  people  say  that  a  horse  tires  sooner  in  a  cart 
than  in  a  buggy.  I  can  explain  the  reason  in  a  few 
words.  The  horse  drawing  the  cart  has  twice  the 
weight  to  pull  that  the  buggy  horse  has.  This  is 
equalized  if  the  cart  is  balanced  right  by  having  oiily 
two  wheels  to  pull  over  obstacles,  where  the  buggy  has 
four.'  We  must  not  expect  the  horse  to  draw  and  carry 
the  weight  on  his  back  at  the  same  time.  What  is  it 
that  makes  drawing  boats  or  barges  so  distressing  to 
horses?  The  constant  weight  on  their  shoulders  fro(m 
their  haying  no  declivities  to  relieve  them.  So  it  is 
in  a  mitigated  sense  with  a  horse  in  a  cart.  He  is 
always  or  comparatively  so  at  work.  A  very  great 
error  existed  for  a  long  time  as  to  the  proper  ap- 
plication of  weight  to  horses  in  two -wheeled  vehicles. 
With  some  these  probably  exist  still.  The  error  arose 
from  the  evident  conclusion  that  the  more  weight  we 
throw  on  the  horse's  back  the  less  there  must  be  on 
the  wheels,  and  to  carry  this  thing  out  a  much  greater 
proportion  of  weight  was  put  before  the  axle  in  old 
gigs  than  in  modern  ones.  Nothing  certainly  could 
be  more  absurd  than  to  suppose  this  was  advantageous 
to  the  horse,  and  yet  many  sensible  men  entertained  the 
idea.  If  we  take  say  100  pounds  off  the  wheels  and 
put  it  on  the  horse's  back  the  wheels  woidd  certainly 


WHAT  TO  DRIVE. 


87 


make  a  lOO-pouiid  less  impression  on  the  road^  being 
that  [much  lighter,  but  it  by  no  means  follows  that  the 
change  is  in  favor  of  the  hcse — common  sense  teils  ns 
that  it  is  the  reverse — if  the  changing  of  the  100 
pounds  was  advantageous  it  must  follow  that  if  we 


--<^ 


A  ROADSTER. 


could  pack  the  two  persons,  cart  and  all,  on  his 
back  it  would  be  better  still,  and  so  on  till  in 
lieu  of  a  horse  drawing  a  ton  of  hay  we  should  be  mak- 
ing the  experiment  of  trying  how  he  could  carry  it, 
in  which  T  rather  imagine  we  should  fail.    That  the 


88  DRIVING  AS  I  FOUND  IT. 

weight  hanging  back  so  far  as  to  cause  any  exertion  of 
the  horse  to  keep  it  down  must  be  a  useless  expendi- 
ture of  strength  is  quite  cei^tain;  the  desideratum  is  to 
give  him  if  possible  increased  hold  of  the  ground,  but 
putting  any  portion  of  weight  on  his  back  that  he  can 
so    easily     drawn     is    preposterous.       A    fact    has 
ofteoi  Ibeen   proved   on   the   other   side   to   this,    put 
a  load  behind  a  horse  which  he  cannot  move  and  then 
put  a  200-pound  man  on  his  back.    He  will  draw  it. 
This  only  shows  the  effect  of  increased  weight  against 
weight.     B  ut  it  would  be  rather  a  curious  manoeuvre  to 
make  a  200-pound  coachman  ride  one  of  a  pair  of  horses 
in  order  to  facilitate  their  going  ten  miles  an  hour  in 
harness  even  allowing  that  we  took  the  200  pounds 
from  the  carriage.    In  many  ways  the  power  of  horses 
is  wasted  quite  as  ridiculously  from  want  of  considera- 
tion.   It  is  quite  clear  that  whatever  presses  against 
the  front  part  of  the  axle  has  a  tendency  to  drive  the 
wheels  back,  while  whatever  acts  upon  his  back  part 
has  an  opposite  effect. 

All  carts  should  have  nearly  straight  shafts,  with  a 
slight  turn  outwards  towards  the  end.  The  (White- 
chapel  cart,  which  is  mostly  used  for  tandem,  is  built 
with  straight,  stiff  shafts.  Before  purchasing  a  cart  it 
is  advisable  to  get  some  one  to  hold  the  shafts ;  then  take 
your  seats  and  you  can  easily  see  if  the  cart  is  balanced 


WHAT  TO  DRIVE.  89 

right.  If  it  is,  the  shafts  will  stand  out  perfectly  straight, 
and  the  slightest  touch  will  raise  or  lower  them.  The 
next  most  important  part  of  the  turnout  is  the  harness, 
which  should  be  stronger  and  with  moie  substance  than 
harness  used  for  four-wheeled  vehicles,  the  pad  made 
with  strong  girths,  the  tugs  large  enough  to  give  the 
shafts  room  to  play,  the  back  band  made  in  one  piece, 
with  one  buckle  on  the  near  side,  and  care  should  be 
taken  Avhen  putting  too  that  the  back  hond  is  left  loose. 
If,  as  is  generally  the  case,  the  back  band  is  drawn 
tight,  there  is  no  chance  w^hatever  for  the  cart  to  balance 
itself;  consequently,  every  time  the  horse  steps  the 
shafts,  being  like  a  fixture,  cause  the  cart  to  jolt.  Breech- 
ings  need  not  be  used  in  town,  but  I  strongly  recommend 
their  use  for  country  work;  but,  w^hen  the  breeching  is 
dispensed  with,  a  loin  strap,  or,  as  it  is  termed,  kicking 
strap  should  be  used.  It  looks  well  and  is  much  safer. 
It  is  impossible  to  tell  when  a  horse  might  start  kick- 
ing. I  used  a  horse  several  years  and  he  never  made  an 
attempt  to  kick  till  one  day  going  down  a  very  steep 
hill  a  flock  of  geese  came  out  suddenly  from  a  gate  across 
the  road.  I  pulled  up  suddenly  to  avoid  running  over 
them,  when,  having  no  breeching  on,  the  sudden  jerk 
threw  the  weight  of  the  cart  against  the  tugs,  therefore 
pulling  on  the  crupper  to  such  an  extent  as  to  cause  the 
horse  pain,  and  he,  not  liking  such  treatment,  kicked. 


90  DRIVING  AS  I  FOUND  IT. 

Had  it  not  "been  for  the  kicking  strap  he  would  in  /'all 
probability  have  kicked  over  the  shafts,  and  it  is  im- 
possible to  tell  what  the  consequences  might  have  been. 

The  most  suitable  horse  for  an  ordinary  cart  should 
not  be  over  15.3;  one  that  steps  quick  and  light,  mod- 
erate action,  with  a  good  head  and  neck  well  set  on  him, 
with  substaixe  and  breeding  combined.  Cobs  from  13.3 
to  15  hands  are  used  for  village  or  Surrey  carts,  and 
look  neat  and  sfcylish,  provided  the  cart  is  well  set  up, and 
not  too  low  in  the  body.  A  cart,  no  matter  how  the  shafts 
are  made,  cannot  balance  or  ride  easy  unless  the  height 
of  tlie  wheels  and  axles  are  proportionate  to  the  size  of 
the  horse  or  cob. 

Stanhope  and  Tillbury  gigs,  being  built  on  a  different 
principle,  are  more  easily  adjusted  and  can  be  balanced 
before  leaving  the  coach  builders,  as  they  are  not  in- 
tended to  curry  more  than  two  passengers.  The  shafts 
are  also  different,  being  turned  in  to  a  considerable  ex- 
tent, so  that  they  lay  close  to  the  pad.  Gig  harness  is 
generally  made  with  Prench  tugs,  which  are  more  suita- 
ble for  these  kind  of  shafts,  as  they  do  not  require  the 
same  amount  of  play  that  a  straight  or  stiff  shaft  does. 
For  neatness,  style  and  safety  there  is  no  better  vehicle 
made  than  tlie  two-wheeler.  No  matter  how  short  a 
hojse  might  turn  the  two  wheeler  turns  with  him.  They 
are  used  exclusively  in  all  the  principal  cities  in  Europe, 


WHAT  TO  DRIVE.  93 

especially  by  horse  breakers  and  dealers,  being  consid- 
ered the  safest  for  handling  young  horses.  Cob  and 
pony  carts  are  more  adapted  for  ladies  and  young  peo- 
ple. 

Single  brougham  horses  I'equire  breeching,  there  be- 
ing a  good  many  stops  made  driving  through  a  busy 
crowded  city.  But  if  you  don't  wish  to  use  breeching,  a 
loin  strap  and  false  breeching  is  necessary.  It  buckles 
on  the  pad,  which  prevents  the  pad  moving  forward, 
therefore  taking  the  strain  of  the  crupper  strap. 


94 


DEIVING  AS  I  FOUND  IT. 


HOW  TO  DRrS^E  ONE  HORSE  OR  A  PAIR. 


Driving  one  or  a  pair  being  tlie  same  tMng  as  regards 
tlie  position  of  the  reins  in  the  hand,  I  mil  endeavor  to 
show  my  readers,  with  the  aid  of  a  few  diagrams,  how 
to  drive  in  a  correct  and  proper  style. 

In  the  first  place  you  must  sit  up  as  straight  as  pos- 
sible on  the  driving  seat,  but  sit  comfortably — not  half 


standing  as  some  do.  Hold  the  reins  in  the  left  hand; 
the  near  rein  on  top,  the  off  one  below,  between  and 
in  the  middle  of  the  second  and  third  fingers.  Hold  the 
whip  in  the  right  hand,  and  keep  both  hands  in  the  posi- 
tion fig.  1.    Always  be  careful  to  have  both  reins  even 


HOW  TO  DRIVE  ONE  HORSE  OR  A  PAIR.  95 

in  length  and  just  tight  enough  to  feel  the  mouth  of  the 
horse  gently.  When  starting  off,  either  with  a  click 
or  slight  touch  of  the  whip,  drop  your  left  hand  a  little, 
that  is,  push  it  a  little  forward  so  that  when  the  horse 
gets  into  his  traces  and  extends  his  head  and  neck  he 
will  not  feel  himself  checked  in  his  endeavors  to  start. 
Some  liorses,  especially  those  with  a  bar  or  Liverpool 
bit  buckled  down,  and  i)erhaps  a  tight  curb,  will  baulk 
or  get  out  of  temper.  Double  ring  snaffles  are  the  best 
bits  to  use  for  cart  work  unless  your  horse  is  a  very  bad 
l)uller  and  even  then  if  used  with  a  nose  strap,  the  reins 
buckled  in  the  single  ring  will  hold  him.  In  fact  I  have 
used  them  myself  repeatedly  on  horses  whose  mouths 
were  calloused  and  hard  from  the  severe  use  of  a  curb 
bit.  Some  horses  after  pulling  awhile  against  a  curb 
get  their  lower  jaw  numbed  and  lose  all  sense  of  feeling. 
Now,  having  started  off  all  right  you  might  wish  to  take 
your  horse  back  a  little  or  take  a  shorter  hold  of  the 
reins.  If  a  lady  or  young  person  be  driving  they  can 
X)ull  the  reins  through  the  fingers  of  the  left  hand  which 
is  easily  done  by  putting  the  right  hand  back  of  the  left 
and  taking  firm  hold  of  the  reins,  at  the  same  time  push- 
ing the  left  hand  forward  and  so  letting  the  reins  slide 
lihrough,  the  :^gers  until  the  necessary  lengtlh  is 
through.  Do  not  separate  the  reins,  that  is, 
holding  a  rein  in  each  hand.    You  can  do  all  the  turn- 


96 


DRIVING  AS  I  FOUND  IT. 


ing  or  stopping  required  with,  the  right  hand.  Driving 
with  a  rein  in  each  hand  is  really  dangerous,  especially 
when  they  are  loose,  it  being  impossible  to  pull  up  quick 
without,  as  is  oftentimes  done,  throwing  the  body  right 
back  with  the  hands  up  to  the  chin,  and  not  being  able 
to  pull  any  more,  holloa  "whoa"  or  run  into  something. 
To  pull  up  short  and  to  do  it  properly  is  very  simple  and 


easy,  in  fact  it  is  similar  to  pulling  a  rope  hand  over 
hand.  Your  reins  being  in  the  left  hand  the  right  is 
at  all  times  free  and  ready  to  assist.  Put  your  right 
hand  over  and  in  front  of  the  left  as  far  as  it  will  go, 
and  catch  hold  of  the  rein  as  fig.  2  and  pull  towards  you. 
If  that  is  not  sufficient  keep  the  reins  in  the  right  hand 


HOW  TO  DRIVE  ONE   HORSE  OR  A  PAIR. 


07 


leave  go  with  the  left,  at  the  same  time  pushing  under 
and  in  front  of  the  right  (fig.  3),  and  you  will  find  that 
you  have  them  in  the  same  position  as  when  starting. 
It  is  well  to  practice  this,  taking  up  the  reins  quick  with 
each  hand,  always  bearing  in  mind  that  when  taking 
them  into  the  right  hand  the  fingers  are  turned  down- 
ward and  when  in  the  left  the  fingers  are  upwards. 


To  make  a  turn  to  the  left  place  the  right  hand  over 
and  a  few  inches  lower  than  the  left  of  the  near  rein 
and  pull,  as  in  fig.  4.  A  nice  mouthed  horse  only  re- 
quires a  slight  touch.  Keep  the  hand  there  until  the 
turn  is  made.  In  case  the  horse  turns  too  quick  or  too 
sharp  your  hand  is  ready  and  convenient  to  steady  the 
off  rein,  and  if  you  want  to  pull  up  short  you  can  easily 


98  DRIVING   AS  I  FOUND  IT. 

do  SO.  Turning  to  the  riglit  comes  a  little  more  easy,  as 
you  just  i)lace  your  right  hand  on  the  off  rein  and  with 
the  top  finger  projecting,  as  in  fig  5,  can  easily  grasp 
the  near  rein  or  both  at  the  same  time,  and  so  come  to  a 
sudden  stop  again  if  necessary.    If  you  learn  to  drive 


the  way  I  have  described  you  will  find  it  easy,  safe  and 
stylish. 

Driving  a  pair,  if  properly  bitted  and  reined,  is  sim- 
ilar to  driving  one,  but  it  requires  a  x)ractical  coachman 
of  experience  to  have  them  in  their  right  place.  I  was 
once  aslied  by  a  lady  if  I  would  teach  her  to  drive.  She 
mshed  to  be  considered  the  best  lady  driver  in  New- 


HOW  TO  DRIVE  ONE   HORSE  OR  A  PAIR.  99 

port.  Tlie  lady  I  'allude  to  had  been  driving  some 
months,  and  sat  on  the  driving  seat  in  a  very  coach- 
manlike niamier,  amd  understood  perfectly  how  to  hold 
the  reins.  We  went  out,  and  with  some  little  difficulty 
got  to  the  park.  The  lady  had  been  driving  and  com- 
plained of  being  tired.  I  noticed  that  from  the  time  we 
started  she  had  been  driving  mostly  on  one  rein,  and 


even  then  could  not  get  the  horses  to  keep  straight. 
I  changed  seats,  and  had  not  driven  many  yards  when  I 
found  out  where  the  fault  was.  The  cobs  were  young 
and  improperly  bitted,  the  near  one  had  more  ambition, 
combined  with  a  harder  mouth,  consequently  when  driv- 
ing T\ath  a  loose  rein  did  most  of  the  work,  thus  forcing 
the  pole  to  the  off  side  of  the  road,  necessitating  a  cer- 
tain amount  of  strength,  with  constant  pressure  on  the 


100  DRmNG  AS  I  FOUND  IT. 

near  reinj^iii  fact,  it  was  driving  one  horse — ^tbe  jiear  one 
and  letting  the  other  horse  trot  on.  Now  to  bring 
the  pair  together  and  make  them  easy  to  drive  was  tlie 
work  of  a  few  moments.  First,  I  bnckled  the  near 
horse's  Tein  in  (the  middle  bar,  shortened  liis 
coupling  rein  three  holes,  tightened  the  curb  a  lit- 
tle, and  left  the  off  horse  in  the  cheek  ring;  let  ont  the 
near  ontside  trace  one  hole  longer  than  the  other  and 
tightened  the  pole  piece  one  hole  shorter,  so  that  if  the 
near  horse  had  been  pulling  the  phaeton  by  himself  it 
would  go  straight;  then  handed  the  reins  to  the  lady, 
and  we  drove  on.  After  going  some  distance  I  asked 
her  how  they  drove,  and  she  answered:  "Splendid;  in 
fact,  they  drive  like  one  horse,  as  they  should  have  done 
at  first." 

As  we  seldom  get  two  horses  of  the  same  disposition — • 
action,  gait  or  temper — we  should  find  out  the  faults  of 
either  and  trj^  in  a  practical  way  to  remedy  them. 

While  upon  this  subject  of  pah-  horse  driving  I  must 
call  my  readers'  attention  to  the  most  important  part 
of  the  harness — the  reins.  Any  one  who  drives  a  pair 
knows  that  the  coupling  rein  (inner  rein)  has  a  buckle, 
which  buckles  on  the  outside  rein  (draft  rein),  but  how 
few  know  or  ever  give  it  a  thought  what  that  buckle  is 
for,  and  why  so  many  holes  are  punched.  I  have  seen 
reins  that  have  been  used  for  several  years  and  used  on 


HOW  TO  DRIVE  ONE  HORSE  OR  A  PAHl.  101 

many  different  pairs  of  horses  which,  from  the  appearance 
of  the  W' orking  holes,  Avere  never  altered  since  they  were 
new.  Now,  we  might  have  a  pair  of  horses  equal  as  to 
l^eiight  and  everything  which,  goes  to  make  a  nice 
match;  but  supposing  one  should  have  a  short  neck  and 
the  other  a  long  one,  how  are  we  going  to  get  them  to 
drive  handy  unless  we  have  the  reins  so  that  each  horse 
shall  each  have  an  equal  share  of  them?  One  coupling 
rein  might  have  to  be  six,  or  even  nine  holes  shorter 
or  longer  than  the  other,  as  the  case  might  be.  Take 
for  instance  two  horses  which  shall  be  exactly  alike  in 
height  and  length.  One  horse  might  bend  his  neck  a 
little  more  than  the  other,  conseiiuently  briugliii^-  the  n  s? 
a  little  nearer  the  chest,  making  two  or  three  holes 
shorter  in  the  coupliug  rein  necessary  to  bring  it  to  the 
proper  position.  Coachmen  who  use  bearing  reins  have 
less  trouble  in  bringing  their  horses  together  than  those 
who  eschew  them.  All  coach, horses  that  are  used  for 
heavy  carriages  in  town,  such  as  landaus,  D'Orsays  or 
eight-spring  Victorias,  look  better  and  dri^e  easier  wdth 
them. 

Cobs  and  ponies  look  as  well  without  them,  having 
shorter  and  stiffer  necks.  Therefore,  there  is  really  no 
utility  in  using  them.  Bearing  reins,  like  other  parts 
of  harness,  should  not  be  used  as  fashion  dictates,  but 
as  necessity  requires.    Driving  a  journey  without  bear- 


102  DRIVING  AS  I  FOUND  IT. 

ing  reins  is  decidedly  a  relief  to  most  jhorses,  but  I 
strongly  recommend  coaclimen  wlio  drive  big  borses  in 
town  to  use  them.  Tbey  will  find  it  much  easier  for 
themselves.  There  is  no  possible  reason  that,  because  a 
pony  looks  well  without  them,  a  horse  should  also. 
There  is  la  vast  diiference  in  the  use  that  each  animal  is 
put  to.  It  became  fashionable  some  years  since  to  dock 
ponies'  tails  very  short  and  hogg  their  manes;  but  how 
absurd  to  do  the  same  with  their  big  brother,  the  horse. 
I  remembei*  once  a  few  years  since  attending  a  sale  at 
the  American  Horse  Exchange.  There  were  a  number 
of  horses,  ranging  from  15  1-2  to  16  hands.  They  had 
previoush'  l>een  bought  by  a  gentleman  dealer  as  an  ex- 
periment and  Avere  advertised  as  having  undergone  a 
special  preparation,  were  all  supposed  to  be  in  h'gh  con- 
dition, well  broken  to  harness  and  docked  and  trimmed, 
fit  to  go  into  immediate  work.  According  to  my  idea, 
however,  they  were  just  fit  to  be  turned  out  for  a  few 
months  until  their  tails  grew.  They  were  not  only 
docked  jtoo  short,  but  their  tails,  being  cut  as  close 
to  the  dock  as  they  could  be,  were  trimmed  up  each 
side,  giving  them  the  appearance  of  a  worn-out  shaving 
brush.  Horses'  tails  should  be  cut  according  to  their 
size  and  height,  and  left  as  square  as  possible.  In  fact, 
carriage  horses  16  hands  and  over  should  bave  their 
tails  reach  within  a  few  inches  of  their  hocks.    Particu- 


HOW  TO  DRIVE  ONE  HORSE  OR  A  PAIR. 


103 


lar  attention  should  also  be  given  to  the  way  in  which 
they  are  carried  by  getting  the  cruppers  stuffed,  aud  of 
a  thickness  so  as  to  prevent  their  lying. too  close  to  the 
buttocks.  The  manes  should  also  be  pulled  in  proper 
proportion. 


104.  DRIVING  AS  I  FOUND  IT. 


THE  WHIP. 

Knowing  how  to  use  the  whip  is  of  much  more  import- 
ance than  some  people  imagine.  There  is  really  no  art  in 
benig  able  to  catch  a  double  thong ;  it  is  merely  a  knack, 
and  can  be  easily  acquired.  I  would,  however,  advise  those 
of  my  readers  who  wish  to  learn  to  take  a  lesson  from 
some  one  competent  to  teach.  Practice  until  von  get 
perfect.  To  be  able  to  use  the  whip  is  as  essential  as 
being  ;able  to  use  the  reins  correctly.  What  on  earth 
would  we  think  of  a  carpenter  if  he  did  not  know  how 
to  use  a  saw.  No  matter  how  well  you  can  drive  or 
how  complete  your  turn-out,  a  ;whip  with  a  thong 
dangling  all  over  the  stick  gives  it  an  untidA^  appear- 
ance besides  adding  to  the  discomfiture  of  the  persona 
riding  with  you.  The  thong  when  allowed  to  hang 
down  will  catch  around  the  hub  of  the  wheel,  and  un- 
less you  pull  up  quickly  will  wind  around  until  you 
have  to  let  go  of  the  whip  altogether.  The  idea  of  a 
coachman  not  being  able  to  use  a  whip  recalls  to  my 
mind  an  incident  which  occurred  in  Boston.  I  was  en- 
gaged teaching  a  gentleman  to  drive  a  team.  Being 
an  apt  pupil,  he  learned  very  quicldy,  and  became  an 


HOW  TO  DRIVE  ONE  HORSE  OR  A  PAIR.  105 

adept  with,  the  whip.  He  was  in  want  of  a  coachman, 
and  had  requested  the  representative  of  the  leading 
coach  builders  at  that  time,  who  had  an  agency  in  New- 
port, to  send  him  a  first-class,  practical  man.  Now  it 
so  happened  that  the  representative  of  this  firm  was 
at  that  time  a  very  young-  man,  in  fact,  quite  a  novice 
at  the  businesSj  and  possibly  more  interested  in  cigar 
ette  smoking  than  four-in-hand  driving.  But  he  sent 
one;  I  don't  know  where  he  found  him,  but  he  came  to 
Boston  and  presented  himself  as  the  coachman  recom- 
mended very  highly  by  the  carriage  firm.  I  never 
before  or  since  beheld  such  a  specimen  of  a  private 
servant.  Over  six  feet  in  height,  and  of  slovenly  ap- 
pearance; in  fact,  he  looked  more  like  a  farm  hand. 
I  was  asked  my  opinion  about  him  as  to  his  being 
suitable  for  the  i^lace,  and  found  myself  in  a  very  em- 
barrassing position.  It  is  against  my  natural  inclina- 
tion to  injure  anyone  or  prevent  their  obtaining  a 
livelihood,  so  I  merely  made  a  proposition  that  if  he 
could  drive  a  team  he  could  certainly  handle  a  whip. 
He  was  asked  the  question.  "Oh,  yes,"  replied  he; 
"as  good  as  anybody."  A  team  whip  was  handed  to 
him  made  by  one  of  the  crack  London  whip  makers. 
He  looked  at  it,  threw  out  the  thon^,  and  tried  inef- 
fectually as  he  termed  it,  "to  crack  it,"  but  it  would 
not  go  off.    He  put  it  down  with  the  remark,  "That 


100  DRIVING  AS  I  FOUND  IT. 

ain't  the  kind  Tfe  been  used  to,"  and  I  know  he  spoke 
the  truth.  He  was  saved  the  trouble  of  becoming  very 
familiar  with  it  by  having  his  return  car  fare  paid  to 
Newport. 

There  are  certainly  a  good  many  coachmen  who  never 
aspire  to  drive  more  than  one  or  a  pair,  wlio  are  sadly 
deficient  in  knowing  how  to  hit  a  horse  without  break- 
ing the  whip.  There  is  sometimes  an  excuse  for  break- 
ing the  thong,  as  it  may  become  rotten  tlirough  having 
been  exposed  to  wet  or  the  constant  use  of  pipe  clay, 
which  is  sometimes  used  to  keep  the  thong  white.  The 
stock  is  often  broken  through  a  flaw  in  the  wood  or 
unavoidable  accidents,  but  in  most  cases  it  is  broken 
by  hitting  the  horse  witn  the  stick  instead  of  Avith  the 
thong,  which  is  intended  for  that  purpose  only.  Coach- 
men who  cannot  hit  a  horse  effecfively  with  a  light 
whip  and  without  being  obliged  to  have  the  top  half 
whalebone  should  never  be  allowed  to  use  one,  a  bale 
stick  or  plough  handle  would  suit  them  better. 


~-^— 7-^-#^^^ 


"mi 


jiwiiiliiii 


THE  TAIs'DEM. 


THE    TANDEM. 


109 


"  Oh,  what  delight  a  tandem  ride, 
A  high  wheel  cart  with  three  inside; 
The  wheeler  steady,  and  leader  free, 
If  the  whip  is  clever  it  goes  merrily." 

I  have  ofttimes  heard  the  remark,  "It  is  harder  to 
drive  tandem  than  four,"  and  have  repeatedly  been 
asked  by  gentlemen  who  drive  tandem  my  opinion  npon 
the  subject.  Driving  tandem  or  four  are  similar  only 
in  regard  to  holding  the  reins.  Tavo  horses  under  eoual 
conditions  cannot  possibly  be  as  hard  to  manage  as 
four.  There  is  a  great  difference  between  a  coach  and 
a  cart,  without  taking  into  consideration  the  difference 
in  weight  when  each  Is  loaded.  I  know  several  gen- 
tlemen who  drive  tandem  well  who  could  not  drlAe 
four,  but  I  have  yet  to  find  a  good  four-horse  coach- 
man who  cannot  drive  tandem.  I  have  on  several  oc- 
casions seen  gentlemen  make  turns  Avith  a  tandem 
that  to  do  the  same  with  a  coach  would  turn  it  over. 
With  tandem  there  is  no  danger  of  a  leader  kicking 
over  the  bars  or  a  wheeler  getting  a  leg  across  the  pole ; 
neither  is  there  three  tons  of  weight  to  steady  down 
hills  or  a  brake  to  be  applied  every  now  and  then, 
besides  the  responsibility  of  having  perhaps 
a     dozen     valuable     lives     entrusted     to  your     care 


110 


DRIVING    AS    I    FOUND    IT. 


Wliat  makes  driving  taii(iem  so  distressing  to  many  is 
the  absurd  manner  in  which  the  outfit  is  put  together, 
neither  taste,  appointments  nor  the  general  i)rinciples 
which  constitute  a  tandem  being  considered.  In  some 
cases,  even  when  the  turn-out  is  complete  as  to  the 
size  of  the  horse,  make  of  the  harness,  and  cart  of 
correct  pattern,  there  is  an  utter  lack  of  knowledge 
how  these  are  to  be  brought  together  so  that  every 
strap  is  in  its  right  place,  the  cart  balanced  perfectly, 
so  that  it  will  ride  easily  and  coinfortablj ,  the  horses 
bitted  and  reined  so  tJiat  tliey  work  like  one.  Unless 
these  points  are  considered  worth  knowing  something 
about,  it  is  almost  useless  to  attempt  to  learn  how  to 
drive  tandem.  A  cloclv  will  not  go  correctly  if  it  is  not  put 
together  properly  and  an  ill-fitting  tandem  will  make  a 
fool  even  of  a  good  coachman.  The  tandem  illustrated  in 
the  foregoing  page  is  that  of  Mr.  Burton  Mansfield,  to 
whom  I  believe  is  accorded  the  distinction  of  being 
the  first  exponent  of  driving  tandem  as  it  should  be 
done  in  New  York.  He  is  a  professor  on  the  subject, 
and  has  done  more  than  any  other  one  person  to  assist 
begimiers  in  acquiring  this  style  of  driving.  He  was 
one  of  the  original  founders  of  the  Tandem  Club,  which 
includes  among  its  members  T.  Suiiern  Taller,  Esq., 
whose  artistic  abilities  as  a  whip  were  deservedly  no- 
ticed at  the  last  horse  show  at  the  Madison  Square 


NO      THOROUGHFARE. 


SHOWING  OFF. 


THE  TANDEM.  115 

Garden.  As  far  back  as  18G7  Mr.  Burton  Mansfield 
imported  a  Whitechapel  cart  from  Peters  of  London, 
which  has  long  been  recognized  as  the  best  model  of 
cart  for  tandem,  and  from  which  model  most  of  the 
carts  in  use  at  the  present  time  Jiaye  been  designed. 

Tandem  harness  should  be  made  to  fit  properly,  every 
part  proportionate  as  to  size;  the  reins  of  the  best  quality 
of  i)liable  leather  and  not  nearly  so  wide  as  those  of 
other  harness,  which  will  be  appreciated  by  coaclimen 
who  drive  with  their  hands  and  not  as  some  do,  with  their 
elbows.  The  mention  of  reiiis  brings  to  my  mind  a 
point  I  omitted  when  comparing  the  driving  of  tandem 
and  four.  I  must  admit  that  iu  the  former  it  is  not  so 
easy  to  finger  the  reins,  as  they  lay  much  closer  to 
gether,  coming  up  almost  straight  from  the  wheel  pad 
terrets,  whereas  with  four-in-hand,  the^-  are  separated 
to  a  much  greater  extent. 

Hoses  intended  for  tandem  work  need  not  be  closely 
matched  as  to  size  unless  they  are  also  required  to  be 
used  in  double  harness,  when  of  course  they  should  look 
alike,  step  and  go  well  togethej\  To  those  who  intend 
purchasing,  I  would  advise  them  to  have  the  shaft 
horse  fully  fifteen  hands,  three  inches,  with  large  and 
deep  body,  showing  substance  and  quality  combined, 
one  that  will  fill  the  shafts,  with  large,  broad,  round 
quarters,  short  back,  long  neck  well  set  on  to  good 


116  DRIVING    AS    I    FOUND    IT. 

slanting  shoulders.  On  the  proper  conform ation  of  a 
horse  intended  for  this  work  a  great  part  of  the  ease 
and  comfort  of  the  driver  depends.  A  horse  that  steps 
sharp  and  does  not  go  too  far  off  the  ground 
is  hj  far  the  best.  The  leader  need  not  be  quite  so 
heavily  built,  about  fifteen  hands  three  inches  or 
nearly  so,  of  good  disposition.  Be  careful  to  avoid  buy 
ing  one  that  shies  or  pulls;  a  stubborn  or  stumbling 
one  is  equally  bad.  The  leader  is  no  doubt  the  leading 
actor,  but  it  does  not  necessarily  follow  that  he  should 
be  a  star  (gazer)  or  one  that  carries  his  head  too  high. 
When  putting  to  be  sure  to  have  the  wheeler  harnessed 
so  that  everything  fits  comfortably.  Keep  him  as 
close  to  his  work  as  possible  without  .causing  anything 
to  touch  him  behind  when  going  down  hill.  See  the 
shaft  stops  are  in  their  proper  place  and  the  back-band 
loose  enough  to  give  the  tugs  room  to  play.  Have  the 
tugs  in  the  right  position  on  the  baclv-band,  so  that 
the  shafts  are  not  brought  too  high  or  too  low  to  get 
their  level  and  balance.  Tlie  cart  should  set  up  high 
enough  off  the  ground  so  that  when  balanced  the  shafts 
will  ride  above  the  traces. 


HOW  TO  DKIVE  TANDEM  AND  FOUR. 


119 


HOW  TO  DRIVE  TANDEM  AND  FOUR. 


Tlie  first  thing  to  do  before  starting  out  is  to  see  tliat 
everj'tliing  is  all  right,  that  the  bits  drop  in  the  proper 
place  in  the  horse's  mouths  and  that  the  curbs  are  slight- 
ly loose.    Stand  at  the  off  side  of  the  wheeler,  take  the 


lead  reins  in  the  right  hand,  the  near  rein  on  top.  Place 
the  wheel  reins  in  the  left  hand,  one  each  side  of  the 
second  finger,  the  near  rein  on  top  between  and  under 
the  top  finger,  the  off  rein  under  and  between  the  second 
and  third  fingers  (fig.  6).    Keep  the  top  finger  open  and 


120 


DRIVING    AS    I    FOUND    IT. 


Btraiglit  and  slip  the  lead  reiQS  from  tlie  right  hand  into 
the  left,  the  near  rein  on  top,  the  off  under  the  first  or 


top  finger,  and  you  will  find  them  in  the  proper  posi- 
tion (fig.  7),  near  lead  on  top  ^ith  two  reins  lying  to- 


HOW  TO  DRIVE  TANDEM  AND  FOUR. 


121 


gether,  the  near  wheel  and  off  lead,  which  is  also  above 
the  near  wheel  and  the  off  wheel,  between  the  second  and 
third  fingers.  Stand  back  a  little  to  get  the  necessary 
length  of  rein  so  that  when  you  are  on  the  box  they  will 
be  as  near  as  possible  t::e  requisite  length.  It  is  well  when 
driving  and  the  horses  at  work  to  notice  the  distance  of  the 
hands  from  w^here  the  reins  are  joined  together — ^the 
splice — ^if  team  harness  the  buckles  will  act  as  a  guide. 


so  that  when  taking  the  reins  in  hand  and  before  start- 
ing the  same  position  can  be  guessed  at  within  a  few 
inches.  Now  place  them  in  the  right  hand  altogether, 
keeping  them  in  the  same  position  (fig.  8),  thus  leaving 
your  left  hand  unincumbered,  and  which  Avill  be  neces- 
sary to  use  when  taking  your  position  on  the  box  seat. 
As  soon  as  seated  place  the  reins  in  the  left  hand  again 
and  sit  and  hold  the  reins  as  in   (fig.  9).      It  is  ne- 


122 


DRIVING    AS    I    FOUND    IT. 


cessary  before  starting  off  to  see  that  the  horses  are 
well  up  in  their  traces,  and  that  each  rein  is  in  its 
proper  place,  neither  tight  nor  slack.  Many  vexatious 
delays  are  caused  through  starting  off  with  one  rein 
loose  foi'  as  the  horses  get  into  their  collars  and  feel  a 
check  on  ^vljich  ever  side  of  the  bit  the  rein  is  tightest, 
naturally  turn,  and  with  an  amateur  coachman,  who  is 


8:enerallY  a  little  nervous  at  the  commencement,  mij^ht  get 
him  into  difQculties.  Alter  a  little  practice  with  the  reins 
the  best  and  most  coachmanlike  way  is  to  take  the  two 
wheel  reins  in  the  middle  finger,  get  the  required  length, 
just  enough  to  feel  the  horse's  mouth  lightly,  keeping  the 
lead  reins  between  tlie  tA^^o  bottom  fingers  of  the  right 
hand,  thus  (fig.  •  10).  Having  the  length  of  rein, 
so   that  they   are   perfectly   even    on    each   side,  and 


HOW  TO  DRIVE  TANDEM  AND  FOUR. 


123 


then  as  the  horses  start  off  and  the  leaders  fill  their 
traces  drop  tlie  lead  reins  in  their  proper  position.  By- 
doing  this  each  horse  will  have  its  fair  length  of  rein. 
Now  we  will  suppose  you  have  started  off  all  right,  not 
forgetting  to  droj)  your  hand  a  little  when  giving  the 
horses  the  signal  to  start,  and  wish  to  make  a  short  turn 


to  the  left,  for  instance,  going  around  a  corner,  shorten 
the  near  lead  rein,  which  is  easily  accomplished  by  tak- 
ing hold  a  few  inches  below  the  left  hand  with  the  bot- 
tom part  of  the  right  hand,  thus  (fig.  11),  at  the  same 
time  drawing  it  towards  you  over  the  left  hand  which 
should  be  pushed  forward  at  the  same  time  till  it  forms 


124 


DRIVING    AS    I    FOUND    IT. 


a  loop  (fig.  12),  then  press  the  thumb  down  tight  to  hoLi  it 
firm  till  the  turn  is  made  and  the  horse  wants  his  head. 
Kaise  the  thumb,  the  rein  ^Yill  run  straight  again.  Whilst 
doing  this  haye  the  right  hand  ready  on  the  off  rein  to  pre- 
vent, if  necessary,  the  wheeler  tnrning  short.  When 
making  a  turn  to  the  right  the  off  lead  rein  is  looped  and 


the  right  hand  is  at  liberty  and  at  the  same  time  ready 
to  catch  hold  of  the  near  reins  (fig.  13).  When  merely 
pulling  to  the  near  or  off  side  of  the  road  to  avoid  ob- 
stacles or  passing  a  vehicle,  a  slight  touch  of  the  right 
hand  on  the  lead  rein  will  be  all  that  is  necessary,  keep- 
ing the  right  hand  on  the  rein  until  the  obstacle  is  passed. 
It  might  perhaps  be  necessary  to  turn  the  wheeler  off 
as  well  if  he  does  not  follow,  which  can  be  done  by  tak- 


HOW  TO  DRIVE  TANDEM  AND  FOUR. 


125 


ing  hold  of  the  two  reins  at  the  same  time  while  pulling 
to  near  side  (fig.  14),  and  taking  hold  of  the  reins  as  in 
(fig.  15),  when  pulling  to  off  side,  but  always  bear  in  mind 
one  thing — ^never  to  separate  the  rein  or  allow  them  to 
slip  between  the  fingers ;  it  is  much  better  to  practice  with 
reins  that  have  been  in  use  for  a  considerable  time,  they 


are  more  pliable,  softer,  and  not  so  likely  to  slip.  Never 
attempt  to  turn  short  without  having  the  leader  well  in 
hand.  Should  he  happen  to  be  a  free  goer  and  the 
traces  taunt  he  will  pull  the  wheeler  around  too  quick 
and  perhaps  throw  him  down.  Going  down  hill  the 
lead  reins  should  be  shortened  so  that  the  lead  traces 


126 


DRIVIXG    AS    I    FOUND    IT. 


are  absolutely  slack.    Every  ounce  the  leader  pulls  go- 
ing down  hill  means  a  i)ound  more  for  the  wheeler  to 


hold  back.    If  a  short  hill  it  will  be  sufficient  to  take  the 
lead  reins  in  the  right  hand  (without  separating  them) 


HOW  TO  DRI^^E  TANDEM  ANB  FOUR. 


127 


and  pull  tliem  towards  you  (fig.  16),  and  "steady  the 
leaders,"  but  it  is  not  safe  having  the  right  hand  so  en- 
gaged for  too  long  a  time.  If  w^ould  be  very  awiiward 
to  the  driver  if  the  leader  should  stumble  or  a  sudden 
turn  to  either  side  of  the  road  be  necessary.  The  best 
way  to  take  the  lead  reins  up  when  coming  to  the  brow 


of  a  hill  or  before  making  a  short  turn  is  to  take  the 
lead  reins  from  the  left  hand  with  the  two  bottom 
fingers  of  the  right  hand  (fig.  17),  pull  towards  you,  at 
the  same  time  push  the  left  forward  (fig.  18),  and  place 
the  lead  reins  in  the  left  hand  again,  in  their  former  posi- 
tion excepting  the  lead  reins  are  shorter.  If  you  find  it 
necessary  to  take  the  wheeler  back  a  little  take  the  lead 


128 


DRIVING  AS  I  FOUND  IT. 


reins  in  the  right  hand,  with  the  thumb  and  top  finger 
grasp  the  wheel  reins  from  behind  the  left  hand,  at  the 
same  time  pushing  the  left  hand  forward  (fig.  19),  until 
the  necessary  amount  has  been  taken  up,  but  keep  the 
fingers  closed  so  that  the  reins  cannot  escape,  then  drop 


the  lead  reins  in  their  former  position.  This  method 
gives  the  driver  a  better  chance  to  feel  the  mouths  of  his 
horses  and  get  the  exact  length  of  rein  than  by  taking 
hold  of  the  reins  with  the  right  hand  and  pulling  them 
through  the  fingers  from  behind  the  left  hand,  which 


HOW  TO  DRIVE  TANDEM  AND  FOUR. 


129 


should  not  be  done,  unless  you  find  it  necessary  to  shorten 
all  the  reins  at  once. 

Driving  a  team  is  very  similar  to  Tandem,  both  as  re- 
gards the  position  of  the  reins  in  the  hand,  excepting 
v/hen  taking  them  in  hand  to  start,  when  having 
the  reins  in  the  left  hand,    as   in  fig.  7,  and  before 


putting  them  into  the  right.  With  the  right  hand  then 
take  hold  of  the  two  off-rems^  and  pull  them  out  (fig.  20) 
until  the  length  f lom  the  buckles  on  the  wheel  reins  to 
the  hand  are  of  equal  distance,  this  will  leave  them 
hanging  loose,  whilst  the  two  near  reins  are  taut,  but 
when  they  are  put  into  the  right  hand  and  you  have  be- 


130 


DKIVIXG    AS    I    FOUND    IT. 


come  seated  on  tlie  box  and  the  reins  are  then  put  into 
the  left  hand,  jou  ^dll  find  that  they  are  perfectly  even. 
I  must  now  take  the  liberty  co  give  my  young  readers 
some  words  of  advice.  Don't  think  for  one  moment 
that  when  you  have  learned  to  hold  your  reins,  make 
turns  and  come  home  safe  after  your  first  drive  that 


3^ou  have  no  more  to  learn.  I  will  say  for  myself  that 
I  have  been  driving  all  descriptions  of  vehicles  for  the 
last  twenty  years,  and  every  time  I  go  out  I  can  gener- 
ally find  some  little  obstacle  in  my  way  that  I  have 
never  encountered  before  which  requires  some  new  move 
on  my  part  to  surmount.  I  admit  that  it  is  easy  (when  you 


HOW  TO  DRR^E  TANDE.M  AND  FOl  R. 


181 


know  how)  to  guide  a  tanrlein  or  team  throu-gh  Cen- 
tral Park,  when  not  too  crowded,  or  down  country- 
lanes  and  highways,  but  to  be  always  ready  in  cases 
of  emergency,  having  everything  as  it  ought  to  be, 
every  strap  to  fit  ^nd  in  the  right  ])lace,  and  last  but 


/     i     !    i   I    I 


H3.20 


not  least  having  your  horses  in  perfect  command  and 
each  doing  only  its  proper  share  of  the  work  requires 
more  practice  and  judgment  than  most  people  would 
credit.  There  is  no  enjoyment  or  pleasure  in  driving 
to  those  wlio  make  hard  work  of  it. 


132  DRIVING    AS    I    FOUND    IT. 


FOUR  IN  HAND. 

To  those  of  my  readers  who  drive  or  intend  to  drive  a 
team  I  most  humbly  apologize  for  givino:  them  a  "back 
seat."  It  was  my  intention  when  "starting  off"  to  give 
all  those  interested  or  dpsirons  of  becoming  interested 
in  coaching  a  "front  seat"  in  this,  my  "first  trip"  on  the 
"literary  road."  But  upon  further  consideration  I 
deemed  it  advisable,  being  a  "new  beginner,"  to  start  at 
the  bottom  of  the  hill  and  gradually  ascend,  fearing  if  I 
started  at  tlie  top  I  might  come  down  too  quick,  and,  in 
the  event  of  not  being  able  to  "  put  on  the  brake,"  cause 
a  "spill,"  and  thus  bring  to  an  abmpt  end  my  first 
venture. 

Having  got  so  far  on  the  road  I  think  it  is  about  time 
I  came  to  the  first  "change."  I  know  from  a  long  and 
varied  experience  amongst  all  classes  of  horsemen  that 
it  will  be  harder  for  me  to  make  those  who  have  been 
driving  a  team  for  some  time  to  alter  their  method  than 
it  will  be  to  teach  those  who  are  about  to  start  one. 

There  are  several  gentlemen  who  have  dr'ven  teams 
for  years,  and  who  are  considered  first-class  whips,  their 
names  being,  commonly  speaking,  household  words  in 


A      PKO-tEbSlUNAL. 


FOUR  IN  HAND.  135 

society,  who  are  wofuUy  ignorant  of  the  different  altera- 
tions i required  at  times  to  make  a  team  go  well  to- 
gether. Nine  times  out  of  ten  the  owner  of  a  team 
drives  himself;  that  is  what  he  keeps  it  for — his  own 
pleasure  and  amusement.  In  fact,  in  most  ca^es.  drives 
it  fr(>iii  the  stable  himself  and  back  there  again,  the 
coachman  being  incompetent  to  drive  four.  Now,  it 
stands  to  reason  that  if  a  man  cannot  drive  a  team  we 
can  hardly  ex])ect  him  to  know  when  he  has  (put  them 
to  whether  he  has  put  them  to  as  they  should  be. 
Therefore,  the  person  who  drives  them  should,  for  his 
ovni  comfort  and  safety,  be  able  at  once  to  see  and 
rectify  any  imperfections  that  may  be  in  the  bitting, 
reining  and  working  of  the  horses;  but  when  a  gentle- 
man employs  a  practical  coachman,  one  who  really  does 
understand  his  business,  and  drives  them  himself  occa- 
sionally, it  will  be  sufficient  for  him  to  be  able  to  drive, 
as  the  team  will  be  put  together  properly.  To  have  a 
team  put  together  and  know  how  to  drive  them  in  a 
coachmanlike  style  requires  a  good  deal  of  practice; 
more  so,  in  fact,  than  most  gentlemen  ^Aho  kee]^  teams 
imagine. 

I  have  on  different  cccasions,  while  e:}gaged  in  drivln  i; 
a  road  coach,  been  tasked  by  passengers  to  allow  them  to 
di'ive  a  little,  an<l,  providing  I  had  a  quiet  team,  with 
plenty  of  time  and  a  straight,  easy  piece  of  road  to  go 


136  DRIVING    AS    1    FOUND    IT. 

over,  have  oftentimes  allowed  them  to  "hold  the  reins.** 
and  I  never  rame  across  but  one  (and  that  was  a  lady) 
who  did  not  think  it  was  "quite  easy,"  and  so  it  Avas. 
They  would  find  it  quite  easy  to  hold  the  helm  of  a 
sailing  vessel  under  certain  conditions — ^fine  weather 
and  a  straight  run — ^but  would  find  it  much  more  difficult 
in  a  gale  of  wind.  Allowing  passengers  to  drive  recalls 
to  my  mind  an  incident  that  happened  last  season.  I 
was  on  the  road  home,  and  when  within  a  mile  of  the 
town  was  asked  by  a  gentleman  passenger  to  allow  him 
to  drive.  I  did  so.  The  road  was  perfectly  straight 
with  the  exception  of  one  turn  which  we  got  around 
safely.  The  new  coachman  became  quite  elated  with 
his  driving,  and  begged  of  me  to  allow  him  to  finish  the 
journey  as  he  wished  his  friends  whom  he  expected  to 
be  on  the  verandah  of  the  hotel  to  see  him  in  all  his 
glory  pull  up.  I  consented,  with  the  admonition  that  be- 
fore reaching  the  hotel  he  should  steady  them  a  little, 
and  at  the  same  time  explaining  the  difficulty  he  would 
find  in  trying  to  stop  nearly  three  tons  of  weight  on  a 
down  grade.  When  we  got  within  view  of  our  stopping 
place  instead  of  steadying  his  horses  he  wanted  to  go 
faster  and  clicked  to  the  horses  to  urge  them  on.  I  beg- 
ged of  him  to  commence  pulling  up,  but  it  was  no  use. 
He  could  see  his  friends  and  other  guests  of  the  place 
who  were  waiting  the  arrival  of  the  coach  and  renewed 


FOUR  IN  HAND.  137 

his  efforts  to  make  them  go  on.  The  consequence  was  he 
^yent  right  past  tlie  hotel,  with  his  hands  right  up 
parallel  with  liis  chin  and  stopped  them  uncere- 
moniously at  the  next  hotel,  some  40  yards  beyond  our 
stopping  point,  and  if  he  had  been  on  the  box  by  himself  I 
don't  think  he  would  have  stox)i>e(l  yet.  This  is  a  case 
of  "too  easy."  There  are,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  a  good 
many  more  lilve  him  who  tliink  because  they  hold  the 
reins — not  drive — over  a  team  a  short  distance  on  a 
straight  road  imagine  they  are  i^erfect  coachmen,  and 
that  the  faster  they  go  the  more  they  think  they  know. 
Unless  you  are  an  experienced  diiver  it  is  not  only 
dangerous  but  foolhardj^  to  drive  fast,  by  so  doing  you 
run  into  danger  quicker,  and  if  in  danger  have  less  time 
to  extricate  yourself.  Coach  horses  should  never  be  ex- 
tended or  be  at  the  top  of  their  speed,  if  they  are  they 
soon  tire.  Some  people  think  that  because  they  are 
riding  behind  four  horses  they  ought  to  go  further  and 
faster  than  with  one  or  two.  They  do  not  take  into  con- 
sideration the  weight  that  those  four  horses  have  to 
pull,  even  a  break  with  eight  passengers  will  weigh 
thirty  hundred  pounds,  or  750  pounds  to  each  horse. 
Another  important  thing,  and  one  very  seldom  thought 
of,  a  horse  whose  natural  gait  is  say  10  miles  an  hour, 
you  can  drive  him  30  miles  a  day  by  going  slow,  say 
seven  miles  an  hour,  but  to  drive  him  at  his  top  speed 


138  DRIVING   AS    I    FOUND    IT. 

will  tire  Mm  out  the  first  hour.  As  it  is  seldom  we  get 
two  horses  gaited  alike  how  can  we  expect  to  get  four 
and  with  the  same  amount  of  speed?  We  will  suppose 
that  three  out  of  the  four  horses  can  go  10  miles  an 
hour  with  ease  and  the  fourth  horse  eight  miles  an  hour. 
Now,  if  we  drive  nine  miles  the  first  hour  the  slow  horse 
is  going  or  properly  speaking  being  pulled  along  a  mile 
an  hour  faster  than  Avliat  he  is  really  capable  of  doing 
easily,  consequently  to  do  that  extra  mile  in  the  hour 
he  could  not  do  any  work,  therefore  the  other  three 
horses  must  do  liis  work  for  him,  making  it  harder  for 
them  and  helping  to  tire  them  out,  and  the  slow  horse 
is  completely  done  up.  Now,  if  we  had  gone  only  seven 
miles  an  hour,  all  four  horses  would  be  doing  their  equal 
share  of  the  work  (always  provided  they  were  properly 
put  too  and  driven)  and  going  within  themselves,  doing 
less  than  what  they  were  really  capable  of  doing.  They 
would  finish  fresh  and  be  ready  to  go  another  seven 
miles,  and  if  in  moderate  condition,  repeat  the  under- 
taking. 

I  shall  never  forget  a  scene  I  witnessed  two  years  ago. 
A  gentleman  arrived  late  one  eveniug  at  the  hotel 
stables  with  a  four-in-hand  break.  He  was  accompanied 
by  two  gentlemen  friends  and  a  coachman.  They  looked 
tired  and  appeared  to  be  in  distress.  From  a  conversa- 
tion I  had  with  the  coachman,  it  seems  that  they  had 


FOUR  IN  HAND.  139 

started  from  New  York  a  few  days  previously  for  a 
coacliing  trijj  through  the  country  and  were  en  route  for 
Saratoga.  When  two  days  on  the  road  one  of  the  leaders 
dro]>ped  dead,  as  the  coachman  expressed  it,  "through 
doing  all  the  work.-'  They  bought  one  from  a  farmer  to 
take  his  place,  whicli  turned  out  to  be  very  lazy,  and 
would  do  no  work,  and  in  trying  to  hit  him  with  the 
whip,  broke  it.  From  that  time  out  the  lazy  horse 
would  do  no  work  and  his  mate  commenced  to  get 
tired,  went  off  his  feed  and  became  sick.  They 
decided  to  stay  over  two  or  three  days  and  rest  the  team. 
A  foAV  (lays  later  they  got  ready  to  start  and  were  har- 
nessed up  in  the  yard.  Tlie  wheelers  were  yerj  evenly 
matched,  but  the  leaders,  one  was  a  thick-set  mare 
with  no  ambition,  in  fact,  looked  too  slow  for  a 
coal  carf;  the  other  a  good-loking  gray,  fidl  of 
courage.  I  really  felt  for  him.  I  could  see  the  reins 
were  even  and  both  bitted  the  same.  The  reins  in  the 
cheek  ring  just  suited  the  mare,  but  would  not  prevent 
the  gray  from  doing  all  the  work,  if  he  so  desired,  and 
his  looks  betokened  him  a  good  one.  I  was  hoping  they 
would  give  me  a  chance  to  speak  to  them  so  I  could  offer 
a  little  assistance  and  advise  them  to  buckle  the  gray 
down  and  take  up  his  reins  a  few  holes.  I  did  speak  to 
the  coachman  about  it,  but  he  did  not  seem  to  under- 
stand, and  a  few  moments  later  they  started  off,  with 


140  •  DRIVING    AS    I    FOUND    IT. 

the  gray  about  lialf  a  yard  in  front  of  tlie  other  leader. 
Nearly  a  T\'eek  elapsed  when  I  met  a  friend  of  mine  who 
had  driven  over  from  Saratoga,  and  I  asked  him  if  he 
had  seen  or  lieard  anything  about  the  four-in-hand. 
Yes,  he  replied  there  was  a  party  arrived  in  Saratoga  the 
day  before  I  left  driving  a  break  and  three  horses,  and 
I  heard  it  reported  that  he  had  lost  his  best  horse  on  the 
road — a  gray  one — who  had  (]ropi)ed  dead.  The  party 
were  all  sick  and  disgusted  with  tlieir  trip  and  intended 
to  finish  their  journey  by  train.  It  was  just  as  I  ex- 
pected. I  am  at  a  loss  to  understand  why  persons  are  so 
foolhardy  as  to  start  out  on  a  trip  with  four  horses  put 
together  by  chance,  not  knowing  the  relative  merits  of 
each  horse,  or  what  the  amount  of  work  he  is  capable 
of  doing,  or  has  to  do,  besides  being  ignorant  of  the  dis- 
tance a  horse  can  travel  without  tiring. 

I  was  once  employed  by  a  gentleman  who  had  spent 
no  end  of  time  and  patience,  in  getting  together  four 
very  good  goers,  and  few  men  could  hold  them  together 
better  than  he  couhl.  We  were  out  on  the  road  and  he 
overtook  a  friend  also  driving  his  team,  who  piqued  him- 
self on  having  fast  ones.  They  had  a  few  minutes'  chat, 
when  to  the  latter  gentleman's  perfect  astonishment,  my 
emi)loyer  Avent  away  from  him  and  the  supposed  fast 
ones  with  perfec^t  ease.  We  met  an  hour  afterwards  in 
the  park,  and  when  they  had  come  side  by  side,  the  same 


FOUR  IN  HAND.  143 

result  toolv  place.  It  ended  in  a  deal,  and  they  actually 
exclianged  teams,  my  employer  getting  a  large  sum  of 
money  in  the  exchange.  We  went  out  with  our  new 
team  every  day,  getting  them  properly  bitted,  in  road 
language,  putting  them  together.  The  fact  was,  three 
of  these  horses  were  beyond  comparison,  much  faster 
than  our  former  team,  but  the  fourth  could  neither  step 
nor  go  with  the  others.  This  horse  we  sold  and  put  in 
one  fully  as  fast  as  the  others.  They  were  then  one  of 
the  fastest  teams  in  London,  and  could  step  together  like 
soldiers :  whereas  before,  they  only  seemed  to  have  been 
put  together  to  be  in  each  other's  way.  A  short  time 
elapses!  before  meeting  again,  when  the  tables  were  com- 
pletely turned.  We  were  going  through  the  park  when 
a  team  came  by  us  at  a  good  pace,  and  instantly  recog- 
nizing them  as  those  we  had  exchanged,  my  employer 
permitted  them  to  get  a  few  lengths  in  advance,  then  put 
on  the  steam,  caught  him,  and  passed  at  a  good  fifeen 
miles  an  hour.  Had  ^'Tam  O'Shanter"  on  the  gray  mare, 
or  Scott  the  'Mock,"  mounted  on  the  ghost  of  Pegasus 
passed,  he  would  have  been  surprised,  but  his  surprise 
would  have  been  tame  compared  with  his  perfect  as- 
tonishment at  the  matchless  style  of  going  and  the  pace 
of  his  former  bays,  but  so  it  was — he  was  beaten,  and 
that  by  his  own  horses.  True,  ore  had  been  changed,  but 
this  he  did  not  know.    The  horse,  taken  out  of  the  team. 


144  DRIVING    AS    I    FOUND    IT. 

was  a  fair  goer,  but  had  no  harness  action,  but  after 
being  ridden  a  few  times,  made  a  splendid  back.  Now, 
here  was  a  young  horse  )»eing  sacrificed,  and  spoiling  his 
companions,  from  being  put  into  his  wrong  place.  So 
much  for  judgment,  or  rather  the  want  of  it.  Judgment 
in  horses  certainly  is  not  possessed  by  one  man  in  a  hun- 
dred who  keeps  and  uses  them,  and  yet  scarcely  one  man 
in  that  hundred  will  allow  or  believe  he  does  not  possess 
it.  , 

To  those  who  like  coaching  and  intend  taking  a  trip, 
I  strongly  recommend  them  before  attempting  to  start 
out,  to  get  some  one  well  qualified  to  judge  the  right 
sort  of  horse  most  suitable  for  the  work,  and  what  is 
more  important,  to  see  that  the  team  work  well  together 
and  are  properly  put  to,  so  that  each  horse  has  the  proper 
length  of  trace,  pole  chains,  and  the  reins  adjusted  so 
that  when  the  team  is  at  work  each  horse  will  do  his 
even  share  and  no  more.  There  is,  moreover,  a  good 
deal  of  judgment  required  on  the  part  of  the  driver  when 
on  the  road.  Some  men  will  drive  ten  miles  a  day  more 
than  another  and  keep  their  teams  fresher  and  in  better 
condition.  Travelling  over  rough,  hilh^  roads  makes  the 
work  for  the  wheelers  harder  than  when  diivdng  along  a 
smooth  road.  On  going  down  inclines  the  leaders 
ought  to  be  kept  back  to  give  them  a  chance  to  rest 
themselves.    The  wheelers,  if  the  brake  is  on  and  hoUs 


FOUR  IN  HAND.  145 

good,  have  a  certain  amount  of  work  to  keep  the  pole 
straight — ^in  fact,  the  wheelers  are  always  kept  busy. 
It  is,  therefore,  advisable  when  going  up  hill  to  let  the 
leaders  do  their  own  share  and  a  little  more.  I  remem- 
ber once  travelling  by  a  coach  and  observing  the  two 
wheel  horses,  both  fine  looking  powerful  grays,  that 
the  near  horse  had  not  once  tightened  his  traces  for 
upwards  of  two  miles,  and  on  my  saying  "I  suppose 
he  was  making  up  his  mind  as  to  when  he  should  set  to 
work"  the  coachman  laughed  and  said  "his  time  is  very 
near  up  now,  sir."  He  said  true  enough.  In  another 
half-mile  I  saw  a  hill  before  us.  A  couple  of  hundred 
yards  before  we  came  to  it  the  gray  horse  sprang  into  a 
gallop  and  the  others  joined,  and  this  horse  certainly 
took  half  jthe  coach  to  the  very  top  of  the  hill.  The 
remainder  of  the  stage  was  aU  against  collar  and  the 
gray  never  wanted  a  word  said  to  him  the  whole  way, 
in  fact  he  was  a  horse  and  a  half  until  we  changed, 
and  his  comrade  about  one-fourth  of  one.  I  am  ready 
to  allow  that  those  two  wheelers  were  not  such  as  a 
man  of  fortune  would  select  for  his  team,  but  in  their 
place  they  were  both  good  ones. 

In  riding  on  a  box  sometimes  if  a  man  is  one  of  the 
sortl — I  should  call  him  one  of  the  right  sort — ^he 
may  probably  see  one  or  more  of  the  team  merely 
carrying  the  harness.    He  must  not  infer  because  the 


140  DRIVING   AS    I    FOUND    IT. 

driver  permits  them  to  do  this  for  two  or  three  miles 
that  the  coachman  is  a  bad  one  or  careless.    No  man 
can  judge  of  the  propriety  of  his  doing  so  as  well  as 
himself.    Some  horses  like  to  do  all  the  work  at  first, 
others  at  the  end  of  the  stage,  and  in  this  they  must  be 
indulged  or  they  are  good  for  nothing,  or  would  be 
rendered  so.    There  are  horses  which  never  want  a 
touch  of  the  whip  over  anything  lil^e  level  ground,  but 
are  bits  of  rogues  at  steep  hills.    They  therefore  do 
their  share  on  the  whole,  and  where  they  punished  to 
make  them  work  uphill  they  would  perhaps  jib  and  not 
draw  an  ounce,  probably  commence  kicking  into  the 
bargain.    Others,  particularly  if  not  quite  so  fast  as 
their  comrades  take  very  little  of  the  load  on  the  flat, 
but  at  hills  will  take  half  the  coach  up.    This  is  their 
forte,   and  for  this  their  exertions  must  be  reserved. 
Some  for  the  fi.rst  five  miles  are  hasty,  and  do  more 
than  their  shai'e,  consequently  to  a  certain  degree  be- 
come exhausted  and  work  but  little  for  the  remainder 
of  the  stage.    Others  only  set  to  work  when — in  a  road 
phrase — ^'they  smell  home.''    Then  they  peg  away  and 
pull  your  arms  off  unless  you  let  them  take  half  the 
coach.  .  Letting  horses  have  their  heads,  i.  e.,  driving 
with  a  loose  rein,  gives  the  free  ones  a  chance  to  do 
more  than  their  proper  share  of  the  ^vork,  therefore 
they  get  tired  sooner.    Keeping  your  horses  in  hand 


FOUR  IN  HAND. 


147 


and  too-etlier  is  of  the  utmost  importance  whether  driv- 
ing through  a  park,  country  highway  or  bus^^  city 
streets,  you  never  can  tell  the  moment  something  wiU 
get  in  your  way  A  person  -might  inadvertently  at- 
tempt to  cross  the  road;  a  child  may  stray  off  the  side- 
walk; or  in  driving  through  the  country  cattle  might 
cross  your  path.  Every  one  is  liable  to  cause  an  ac- 
cident if  the  reins  are  loose,  because  it  requires  more 
length  of  pull  to  enable  you  to  feel  the  horse's  mouth, 
and  as  generally  happens  to  young  coachmen  who  are 
taken  b}'  surprise  rhey  forget  at  the  moment  what  to 
do — ^to  shorten  their  reins. 

Most  of  tlie  foregoing  faults  arise  by  gentle- 
men taking  lessons  from  wliat  a  stage  coachman 
would  call  ''park  coachmen."  I  have  repeatedly 
been  out  with  gentlemen  in  this  city  who  have  taken 
lessons  by  the  dozen.  They  know  how  to  hold  the 
reins  properly  and  how  to  make  a  turn,  providing  the 
team  is  going  moderately  well ;  but  A^hen  it  comes  to  any 
practical  work — dri\dng  ovei*  rotigh  roads  with  a  coach 
loaded  and  lots  of  other  important  points  which  is  most 
important  a  coachman  should  know  something  of,  they 
are  entirely  ignorant.  It  is  a  well-known  fact  to  nearly 
all  those  of  my  readers  who  have  had  any  experience 
in  coaching  that  to  become  a  proficient  wiiip  requires  a 
lot  of  practice  and  constant  dri\4ng  which  can  be  more 


148  DRIVING    AS    I    FOCTND    U*. 

easily  acquired  by  driving  out  with  friends  wlio  own 
coaches,  and  if  practicable  take  every  convenient  op- 
portunity to  sit  on  the  box  seat  of  a  road  coach  driven 
by  a  professional.  You  will  learn  more  in  one  journey 
than  a  park  coacliinan  could  learn  you  in  twenty  lessons. 
It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  there  are  so  few  oppor- 
tunities in  New  York  to  take  the  foregoing  advice. 
The.  0  is  ccvt'iinly  one  j^reat  drawbrick — bad  raa<l-: — es- 
pecially in  this  State.  There  are  no  people  in  the  world 
so  fond  of  driving  as  the  Americans,  and  I  must  con- 
fess there  are  no  people  so  heavily  handicapped  in  this 
most  favorite  and  liealthy  amusement.  Excepting 
Central  Park  and  a  few  avenues,  the  roads  are  abomin- 
able, I  shall  never  forget  (nor  forgive  the  street  commis- 
sioners) for  the  torture  I  and  party  suffered  through 
being  so  reckless  as  to  attempt  to  reach  the  race- 
course iat  Sheepshead  Bay  with  a  four-in-hand  drag, 
going  by  way  of  Broadway  and  South  Ferry.  Having 
to  make  a  stop  at  Delmonico's  in  Broad  street  neces- 
sitated our  taking  that  road.  The  slow  progress  and 
frequent  stoppages  of  the  vehicular  traffic  in  New  York 
is  certainly  occasioned  by  the  uneven  paving  of  the 
roads,  and  conduce  more  than  any  other  thing  to  make 
slovenly  drivers.  Broadway  i^s  certainly  improved 
since  the  stages  were  taken  off,  and  unless  they  make 
some  rules  to  govern  the  city  traffic  the  sooner  the 


FOUR  IN  HAND.  149 

stages  are  taken  off  Fifth  avenue  tlie  better  it  will  be 
for  the  driving  public.  Take,  for  instance,  Fifth  ave- 
nue any  afternoon  during  the  season.  There  are  strings 
of  vehicles  of  every  description.  The  private  carriages 
of  course  predominate.  Four  lines  (not  as  they  ought 
to  be  on  a  straight  road)  trotting  along,  but  at  almost 
all  times  what  a  London  cabby  would  call  "a  full 
stretch  walk."  And  I  have  no  doubt  there  is  not  one 
person  in  a  hundred  of  the  driving  public  that  has  the 
slightest  conception  of  what  causes  it.  The  men  them.- 
selves  who  drive  stages  don't  knoAV  they  are  at  fault. 
There  being  no  bye-laws  ol  the  city  ordinance  to  compel 
them  to  pull  into  the  off  side  or  near  side,  according 
tx)  the  way  in  which  they  are  going,  when  i)ulling  up 
to  set  down  or  take  up  passengers,  consequently  they 
pull  up  as  they  would  on  a  plain  or  desert^ — sharp  and 
in  their  tracks — never  for  one  moment  thinking  or  car* 
ing  what  is  following  behind  or  whether  that  which  is 
behind  has  sufficient  room  to  pass,  which  it  frequently 
happens  there  is  not.  The  consequence  is  that  the 
vehicle  following  has  to  pull  up  short,  and  everything 
behind,  for  perhaps  a  block,  has  to  do  likewise.  If  the 
stage  driver  was  compelled  to  pull  to  the  side  of  the 
road  before  coming  to  a  full  stop  the  driver  of  the 
vehicle  following  would  Iniow  what  the  stage  driver 
intended  to  do,  and  instead  of  pulling  up  himself  and 


150 


DRIVING  AS  I  FOUND  IT. 


stopping  the  traffic  would  pull  to  tlie  near  side  (middle 
ot  the  road,  and  go  on.  It  is  wrong  at  any  time  to  pasjs 
between  a  vehicle  and  the  curbstone,  or  sidewalk,  as 
some  do.  There  should  be  but  one  way  to  pass  each 
other  when  going  the  same  way,  and  that  the  rij^ht  way. 

It  is  a  positive  fact  that  a  good  coachman  can  drive 
with  more  ease  to  himself  in  London  than  in  New 
York,  although  the  traffic  is  greater,  the  streets  nar- 
rower, and  in  a  good  many  instances  have  short  and 
awkward  turns.  There  iie  has  only  to  look  out  for 
himself.  So  long  as  he  is  doing  ^hat  is  right  and  proper 
he  knows  that  e^erj-  other  driver  will  try  and  do  the 
same. 

It  was  in  the  year  1880  that  one  of  the  best  known 
gentleman  whips  of  England,  the  Duke  of  Beaufort, 
being  on  a  visit  here,  was  invited  by  the  owner  of  a 
fast  and  well-appointed  road  coach  working  between 
New  York  and  New  Eochelle  to  diive  a  stage.  After 
looking  over  the  coach  and  complimenting  the  owner  on 
the  way  in  which  it  was  horsed  and  turned  out,  his 
Grace  replied:  "I  could  drive  your  horses,  but  I  should 
not  know  which  side  of  the  road  to  drive  on,"  a  con- 
clusion he  had  come  to  no  doubt  from  riding  on  a  Fifth 
avenue  stage. 

To  some  extent  we  must  make  an  excuse  for  the  care- 
less way  in  which  the  stages  are  aUoAved  to  dawdle  up 


FOUR  IN  HAND.  151 

and  down  the  principal  avenue  of  this  great  city.  Hav- 
ing no  conductors  behind  makes  it  very  hard  on  the 
driver,  who  cannot  be  expected  to  iill  both  positions 
requisite  to  conduct  and  drive  at  one  and  the  same  time, 

I  don't  know  whether  the  stages  try  to  imitate  the 
coachesi  or  whether  the  coaches  imitate  the  stages,  but 
it  is  a  fact  much  to  be  regretted  that  neither  of  these 
excellent  means  of  conveyance  have  improved  their 
services.  In  fact,  as  regards  coaching,  they  have  ac- 
tually degenerated  to  a  considerable  extent  in  the  past 
ten  years.  There  are  more  in  quantity  but  a  great  deal 
less  in  quality.  Since  1880,  w^hen  the  -'Tally -Ho"  went 
off  the  road,  there  has  been  a  subscription  or  Club 
Coach  put  on  in  its  place.  It  was  badly  managed,  badly 
horsed,  and  I  might  say,  badly  driven  when  Frederic 
Bronson  Esq.,  was  off  the  box. 

Putting  a  coach  on  the  road  (I  mean  a  i)ublic  coach) 
is  an  undertaking  of  gi-eat  responsibility.  It  means  in 
the  first  place  a  large  expenditure  of  money,  a  good, 
substantial,  well-made  and  good-running  coach,  as  many 
sides  of  harness  ais  horses,  and  as  many  horses  as  miles. 
Except  when  working  a  "half  number"  going  up  one 
day  and  down  the  next,  when  half  the  number  of  horses 
and  harness  is  sufficient. 

The  horses  being  the  moving  poAver  and  there- 
fore the  mainstay   of   the   success   of   the   enterprise, 


152  DRmNG  AS  I  FOUND  IT. 

great  care  sliould  be  taken  to  have  some  responsi- 
ble person  wlio  tliorouglily  understands  the  points 
and  confonnation  that  go  to  make  a  coach  ,horse, 
tQ  select  and  buy  them.  Yom  must  not  expect 
that  every  horseman  understands  what  consti- 
tutes a  horse  suitable  for  a  coach.  It  must  be  borne 
in  mind  that  the  work  is  sharp  and  hard  while  it  lasts, 
necessitating  speed,  bone  and  stamina.  They  should 
not  vary  much  in  size,  as  it  is  necessary  to  change  over 
alternately,  as  they  work  much  l^etter  by  doing  so  and 
are  not  so  likely  to  get  tricky. 

Color  is  a  secondary  consideration  in  a  coach  horse, 
alwaj^s  bear  in  mind  the  old  maxim  "a  good  horse 
cannot  be  a  bad  color."  They  should  not  be  above  16 
hands  nor  under  15  hands  3  inches,  with  good,  round, 
smooth  hoofs,  short  pasterns,  straight  and  flat  legs, 
round,  lean  and  bony  knees,  a  long  high-reared  neck, 
great  towards  the  breast,  which  likewise  should  be  large 
and  round;  withers  skarp  and  pointed,  the  back  short, 
even  and  double  chined.  The  sides  and  ribs  deep,  large 
and  beariQg  out  and  close  shut  at  the  knuckle  bone. 
The  rump  round  and  broad,  thighs  long  and  large,  with 
well  fashioned  bones  and  those  well  covered  vnth  flesh. 
They  should  stand  primly  on  their  legs,  and  these 
placed  as  legs  should  be.  Lastly,  the  temper  and  dis- 
position  should   be   considered,    and   tliough   there  is 


FOUR  IN  HAND.  153 

scarcely  one  thing  in  which  people's  opinions  vary  so 
much,  it  will  be  generally  found  that  moderation  in  re- 
spect to  spirit  is  much  the  best,  a  runaway  and  a  dull 
jade  bemg  equally  uncomfortable.  One  that  will  do 
his  work  freely  and  at  the  same  time  manifest  no 
eagerness  to  go  on  when  there  is  no  occasion,  is  much  the 
best  horse  for  coaching,  and  should,  if  possible,  always  be 
made  choice  of.  The  horses  should  be  purchased  at  least 
six  weeks  before  being  required,  as  being  young  and  not 
used  to  quick  work,  they  require  a  good  deal  of  making 
up.  Merely  putting  them  in  a  stable  with  perhaps  in- 
competent men  to  feed,  and  driving  at  irregular  and  un- 
frequent  intervals  will  not  assist  in  getting  horses  in 
the  condition  necessary  to  fit  them  for  the  work  re- 
quired. There  is  a  difference  in  the  preparation  of  the 
race  horse  and  the  trotter  for  their  especial  work;  so 
there  is  also  for  the  hunter  and  the  harness  horse.  The 
latter,  if  young  and  poor  in  flesh,  must  in  the  first  place 
be  made  up  by  judicious  feeding,  good  grooming  and 
slow  work  until  they  get  substance  on  them.  Their 
work  can  then  be  increased  a  little  every  day,  both  in 
distance  and  pace. 

I  remember  once  seeing  a  coach  start  from  the  Bruns- 
wick Hotel  on  its  first  trip.  The  horses  had  been  driven 
for  several  weeks  by  amateur  coaclim.en,  bad  ones  at 
that,  and  by  their  appearance  the  fee<iing  and  groom- 


154  DRIVING  AS  I  FOUND  IT. 

ing  of  the  horses  had  been  entrusted  to  an  amateur 
horse-keeper.  The  leaders  in  their  endeavor  to  start 
actually  pushed  each  other  down;  they  looked  thin, 
tucked  up,  and  more  fit  to  be  turned  out  for  the  season 
than  for  the  work  they  were  engaged  in. 

A  man  may  be  a  A^ery  good  coachman,  yet  be  a  very 
inferior  horseman  or  brakesman;  but  the  latter  cannot 
be  fit  for  his  business  unless  he  is  a  first-rate  coachman, 
and  he  requires  much  more  than  this:  He  must  under- 
stand perfectly  the  habits  and  tampers  of  young  horses, 
and  indeed  of  all  horses.  He  must  have  a  clear  head, 
quick  apprehension,  good  temper,  great  presence  of 
mind,  strong  nerves,  strong  but  light  hands,  know 
every  contrivance  to  thwart  the  intentions  of  ^dolent 
horses  and  the  mode  of  soothing  timid  ones.  He  must 
be  able  from  habit  to  judge  at  once  by  the  manner  of  a 
horse  what  he  is  likely  or  preparing  to  do;  in  short, 
to  judge  what  sort  of  a  customer  he  has  to  deal  with. 
There  is  also  a  great  deal  of  judgment  required  in  put- 
ting young  hoi-ses  together,  care  being  taken  to  match 
them  with  due  regard  as  to  their  way  of  going,  dispo- 
sition and  comfort  at  Avork,  more  especially  as  they 
will  in  all  probability  be  driven  by  several  different 
gentlemen,  who  drive  for  pleasure,  and  for  their  ease 
and  the  safety  of  the  lives  of  the  passengers  intrusted 
to  their  care,    The  breaking  and  properly  putting  to- 


FOUR  IN  HAND.  155 

gether  of  the  teams  should  be  intrusted  to  an  experi- 
enced man  who  really  knows  his  business  perfectly 
and  practically. 

Mishaps  and  accidents  will  sometimes  hapi^en 
through  unavoidable  circumstances  to  the  most  care- 
ful and  experienced  coachman,  but  where  one  will 
happen  this  way  a  score  will  occur  through  ignorance 
that  (might  i^ossibly  have  been  avoided  if  good  judg- 
ment had  been  used.  As  I  have  already  remarked,  "a 
little  knowledge  is  a  dangerous  thing,"  and  is  indeed 
more  so  when  acquired  from  those  whose  want  of 
knowledge  in  this  particular  business  is  their  distin- 
guishing characteristic. 

I  have  seen  gentlemen  start  out  with  a  team  with 
the  pole  pieces  drawn  so  tight  that  the  wheelers  were 
actually  carrying  the  pole  on  their  necks.  The  most 
cruel  thing  I  ever  remember  seeing  ^\  as  at  Richfield 
Springs.  A  young  gentleman  who  has  the  name  of 
beino-  a  first-class  whip  pulled  up  opposite  to  where 
I  was  standing  to  set  down  his  passengers.  There  was 
blood  trickling  down  the  near  wheel  horse's  shoulder. 
T  called  his  attention  to  it,  and  was  surprised  at  the 
reply  I  received:  "Oh,  that  is  nothing.  It  happens 
every  time  I  drive  him;  I  think  the  collars  are  too 
tight."  And  in  most  cases  this  is  generally  considered 
tJie  cause  of  sore  shoulders,  but  it  is  a  very  erroneous 


156  DRIVING  AS  I  FOUND  IT. 

one.  A  horse  will  choke  and  work  uncomfortably  with 
fs  tight  collar,  but  very  seldom  gets  sore,  as  it  fits  too 
snug.  It  is  the  collar  being  too  large  and  therefore 
continually  working  up  and  down,  causing  a  certain 
amount  of  friction;  but  where  a  horse  is  galled  and 
bleeding  from  the  top  part  of  the  neck  and  withers, 
especially  wheelers  working  in  a  team,  it  comes  from 
having  the  pole  pieces  too  tight.  The  leaders  pull 
from  the  pole;  therefore,  if  the  pole  is  not  allowed  to 
hang  free  and  entirely  without  the  assistance  of  the 
pole  pieces,  it  stands  to  reason  that  the  leaders  must 
pull  on  the  wheelers'  necks. 

When  i^utting  too,  let  the  i)ole  pieces  or  chains  hang 
loose.  They  might  appear  too  slack  while  the  team  is 
standing  on  a  level  floor,  but  wlien  on  the  road  and 
especially  going  down  hill  they  will  be  found  tight 
enough.  Alluding  to  trotting  down  hills  I  allow  that 
with  a  driver  that  has  no  hands  it  is  to  a  certain  degree 
dangerous,  but  there  is  danger  in  most  things;  but  go- 
ing a  fair  pace  down  hill  is  not  so  dangerous  when  a 
coachman  does  it  as  many  people  imagine.  If  an  ac- 
cident does  happen  while  doing  so  the  effects  may  or 
may  not  prove  more  fatal  than  if  it  had  happened  at  a 
slower  pace,  but  of  this  I  am  quite  satisfied  that  where 
one  horse  falls  in  going  eight  miles  an  hour  half  a  dozen 
would  do  so  at  five.    When  I  use  the  term  "hill ''  of 


FOUR  IN  HAND.  157 

course  I  do  not  mean  a  precipice;  with  a  proper  brake 
and  good  tackle  there  is  really  no  more  danger  trotting 
down  hills  than  on  the  level  road,  but  with  the  imita- 
tion brakes  as  adjusted  to  some  of  the  coaches,  they  are 
really  of  no  earthly  use  except  as  an  ornament  to  be 
used  occasionally  as  a  step.  It  is  surprising  to  me  that 
with  all  the  improvements  latterly  perfected  with  nearly 
every  class  of  vehicle  that  the  properly  adjusting  and 
finding  out  how  and  where  the  brake  ought  to  be  put  on 
a  coach  so  that  it  will  act  as  it  was  intended  it  should, 
to  help  to  stop  the  wheels  from  turning  and  therefore 
stop  the  momentum  of  the  coach  almost  instaneously  if 
required.  There  is  not  one  brake  in  twenty  that  does 
so,  I  will  admit,  and  many  accidents  have  occurred 
through  this.  Only  last  season  I  was  invited  to  drive 
out  with  a  gentleman  who  had  started  a  team  and  had 
employed  one  of  the  best  known  firms-  of  carriao^e  build- 
ers in  this  city  to  build  a  break  regardless  of  expense.  It 
was  certainly  a  very  pretty  one,  but  entirely  unsuitable 
for  the  purposes  for  which  it  was  required,  to  run  on  a 
rough,  uneven  country.  The  vehicle  itself  being  very 
short  in  the  reach,  in  fact  too  compact,  and  as  it  un- 
fortunately happened  some  time  afterwards  very  easy 
to  turn  over.  The  front  seat  was  made  to  carry  three 
persons,  the  driver  sitting  on  the  off  side  as  usual,  which 
made  the  reins  come  to  the  hands  in  a  triangular  form. 


158 


DRIVING  AS  I  FOUND  IT. 


1 

There  is  certainly  no  objection  to  having  the  front  seat 
made  to  carry  three  or  even  live  persons,  but  why  not 
have  the  driver's  seat  in  the  middle?  It  would  look 
equally  as  well,  if  not  better,  <>ive  the  driver  more  com- 
mand over  his  horses,  in  fact  bring  liim  on  a  straight 
line  and  nearer  to  them.  Some  persons  may  say  how 
could  the  driver  apply  the  brake?    But  this  is  very 


easily  answered.  Have  a  foot  brake  which  is  more  easy 
to  work  and  when  applied  is  more  effective,  always  pro- 
viding it  is  put  on  as  it  ought  to  be,  so  that  when  applied 
with  sufficient  power  will  skid  the  wheels. 

The  brake  blocks  as  a  rule  are  hung  too  low  down, 
coming  against  the  under  turn  of  the  wheel  as  in  fig.  1, 
consequently  when  the  coach  or  break  is  loaded  the 
springs  give  a  little,  thereby  throwing  the  brake  block 


FOUR  IN  HA^^D.  159 

off  the  wheels.  Now,  if  the  shank  of  the  brake  was 
made  shorter,  throwing  the  bearing  of  the  block  on  the 
upi^er  turn  of  the  wheels,  as  in  fig.  2,  the  extra  weight 
of  the  coach  when  loaded  would  certainly  assist  the 
brake  to  hold  firmer. 

I  have  before  remarked  a  man  ought  to  know  some- 
thing about  driving  a  team  before  he  can  be  considered 
an  expert  in  judging  what  kind  of  horses  to  buy  to  make 
up  one.  But  it  does  not  necessarily  follow  that  a  coach 
builder  should  be  a  coachman  before  he  untertakes  to 
build  a  coach,  still  I  tliink  it  would  be  advisable  and 
in  the  end  give  more  satisfaction  to  those  who  purchase 
if  they  obtain  tlie  advice  of  some  one  who  Is  known  to 
have  a  really  i^ractical  knowledge  of  the  difl'erent  kinds 
of  breaks  or  coaches  suitable  to  the  different  kinds  of 
work  for  which  they  are  intended.  It  by  no  means 
follows  that  a  body  break  which  was  intended  to  be 
used  almost  exclusively  for  exercising  should  be  recom- 
mended by  carriage  builders  to  an  intending  purchaser 
as  a  fair  and  safe  vehicle  to  make  a  trip  over  a  rough 
or  mountainous  country. 

I  in  no  way  wish  to  infer  that  a  break  is  more  unsafe 
than  any  other  kind  of  a  coach  or  drag,  providing  the 
seats  are  arranged  so  that  when  loaded  the  weight  is 
evenly  balanced;  but  where  the  extra  seat  is  put  on 
close  behind  the  box  seat,  which  when  full  throws  the 


160  DRIVING  AS  I  FOUND  IT. 

whole  weight  in  front,  makes  it  positively  unsafe  when 
driving  over  rough  roads  or  making  sharp  turns. 
Coaches  and  drags  not  being  altogether  suitable  for  those 
who  may  wish  to  take  a  tour  through  the  country  w^e 
must  look  for  something  with  enough  seating  capacity 
sufficient  to  accommodate  eight  to  twelve  persons  with 
enough  room  to  store  the  necessary  outfit  required  on  a 
long  trip. 

The  outing  coach  I  consider  a  really  great  improve- 
ment upon  the  old-fashioned  drag  for  outing  trij^s.  It 
looks  equally  well  in  the  Park,  and  is  much  better 
adapted  to  American  roads,  having  strength  and  light- 
ness combined;  each  and  every  passenger  gets  a  front 
seat,  that  is  to  say,  they  can  all  see  the  way  they  are 
going. 

There  is  a  boot  in  front  and  behind;  a  door  at  the 
back  to  give  access,  in  fact  the  whole  length  of  the  body 
being  hollow  gives  unlimited  space  for  everything  neces- 
sarily required  for  the  comfort  externally  and  internally 
of  the  coaching  party — ^luncheon  case,  hand-bags,  valises, 
dressing  cases,  hat  boxes,  rugs,  wet  weather  coats  and 
aprons,  horse-clothing,  head  collars,  extra  harness  col- 
lars, hame  straps,  a  box  containing  monkey  wrench, 
screw  nuts,  clips,  oil  can,  extra  washers,  package  of 
pearline,  which  will  be  found  not  only  useful  to  wash 
grease  off  the  wheels,  but  as  a  pickle  in  which  to  put 


7. 


162  *  DRR'ING  AS  I  FOUND  IT. 

steel  bits,  pole  chains,  etc.,  to  prevent  them  from  rusting, 
and  two  chain  traces  about  7  feet  long,  made  with  a 
hook  and  eye  at  each  end.  They  can  be  used  for  lead 
or  TNheel,  pnd  they  oan  be  made  any  length,  and  if  re- 
quired can  be  used  temporarily  as  a  pole  chain.  Using 
them  tij getlier  they  will  be  found  useful  as  lead  traces  if 
the  assistance  of  an  extra  horse  is  required  when  ascend- 
ing hills  or  mountains. 

When  starting  out  on  a  coaching  trip  to  be  well 
equipped  is  lialf  the  journey.  The  harness  should  be 
well  inspected,  especially  if  it  has  been  in  use  any  length 


of  time^  and  if  buclde  worn  or  weak  in  any  ])lace 
have  it  repaired  and  streng-thened.  Now,  from  my  own 
experience  of  coaching  in  England  I  must  say  that 
coach  owners,  both  public  and  private,  use  the  very  best 
harness  that  they  can  get.  It  is  to  their  interest  to  do 
so.  It  lasts  longer,  looks  better  and  is  not  so  liable  to 
break.  It  is  well  finished,  smooth  made,  fits  as  it  ought 
to,  and  therefore  not  irritating  to  the  horses,  far  different 
and  a  much  superior  article  to  that  recommended  and 
sold  by  an  enterprising  firm  in  New  York  as  road  har- 
ness, but  which  is  used  almost  exclusively  by  omnibus 
proprietors  on  account  of  its  cheapness. 


SIX  IN  HAND.  163 


SIX  IN  HAOT). 

Coaching  men  as  a  rule  decry  the  idea  of  any  one 
man  driving  six  horses  properly,  that  is,  in  a  coachman- 
like  style.  Taking  the  men  as  a  whole  who  are  usually 
employed  for  this  kind  of  work,  I  must  admit  they  are 
to  a  certain  extent  correct.  There  are  also  numberless 
men  who  drive  a  pair  and  make  hard  w^ork  of  it,  whereas 
another — here  I  mean  a  coachman — drives  four  with 
more  ease  to  himself  and  even  less  exertion;  so  it  is 
with  six,  although  I  must  be  excused  for  ''blowing  my 
own  horn."  I  can  drive  six  equally  as  well  as  four,  and 
really  better  tnan  some  who  imagine  they  are  in  the 
front  row  as  fourliorse  coachmen. 

The  six-hoi-se  coaches  as  used  in  the  West  are  no 
doubt  driven  by  men  who  as  far  as  artistic  skill  is  re- 
quired would  be  unable  to  drive  a  pair  down  Broadw^ay, 
and  the  coachman  who  could  with  ease  drive  a  pair 
in  the  city  wonld  b(^  tc^tally  inca]>able  to  guide — 1  can- 
not say  drive — the  six  horses  for  a  stage  over  the  wild 
Western  plains. 

As  an  illustration  of  this  fact  I  wish  to  mention  an 
amusing  incident  of  which  I  was  an  interested  spec- 


164  DRIVING  AS  I  FOUND  IT. 

tator.  It  was  on  the  morning  of  the  celebration  of  the 
Centennial,  in  188S.  An  old-fashioned  Concord  coach 
was  brought  from  the  West  to  take  part  in  the  pro- 
cession. It  had  been  previously  advertised  in  the  daily 
press  as  being  a  true  representation  of  the  Western 
coach,  and  was  to  be  driven  by  a  regular  A\'estern 
driver.  I  happened  to  be  on  the  corner  of  Fifty-fourth 
street  and  Sixth  avenue  when  the  coach  with  six  horses 
came  down  Fifty -fourth  street  to\^'ards  the  avenue  on 
its  way  to  join  the  parade.  The  driver  was  sitting  on 
the  box-seat  in;  a  half  stooping  position,  with  his  hands 
and  arms  extended  over  the  foot-board,  grasping  three 
reins  in  each  hand  and  the  whip  with  the  thong  tied  in 
a  bow  helplessly  resting  in  the  ^vhip-socket.  I  shall 
never  forget  the  look  of  despair  which  the  driver  ex- 
hibited when  reaching  the  corner,  which  I  presume  he 
wished  to  turn,  judging  by  the  orders  he  gave  the  two 
men  who  were  evidently  acting  as  running  footmen — 
one  on  each  side  of  the  leaders.  With  their  assistance 
the  corner  was  turned  with  difficulty,  the  driver  never 
once  altering  or  shortening  his  reins.  He  apDeared  to 
have  no  idea  of  knowing  how  to  make  a  turn,  and  it 
was  reall}^  distressing  to  see  him  at  Avork.  I  have, 
however,  been  repeatedly  told  stirring  stories  of  the 
dexterity  of  these  Western  six-horse  drivers,  and  a 
little  incident  which  occurred  not  very  long  ago  is 


^  '«:^ 


SIX  IN  HAND.  167 

brouglit  to  my  mind  and  may  be  of  interest  to  my 
readers.  Wliile  driving  the  Mohican  I  had  an  entire 
family  from  the  West,  and  as  they  had  travelled  ex- 
tensively on  the  coaches  out  there  they  evidently  im- 
agined that  city  coachmen  Avere  "not  in  if'  with  the 
Western  drivers.  We  were  returning  home  and  as- 
cending a  long  steep  hill  nearly  a  niile  in  length.  The 
horses  were  walking,  and  even  at  this  pace  found 
plenty  to  do  to  keep  the  coach  moving.  The  party 
were  beginning  to  feel  uneasy  about  getting  to  the 
ho  eel  in  time  for  dinner,  so  they  requested  me  to  2:0  a 
little  faster,  but  not  acceeding  to  their  request,  one 
of  the  gentlemen  commenced  to  recite  his  coaching 
experiences  in  the  West,  making  special  mention  of  a 
certain  driver  by  the  name  of  Hank,  who,  he  said, 
drove  up  and  down  hills  at  a  furious  pace.  I  was 
silent,  but  went  along  very  steadily  imtil  I  came  to 
the  top  of  the  hill,  when  I  put  on  the  brake  and  com- 
menced the  descent,  which  was  very  steep.  There  were 
embankments  on  each  side  of  the  road,  \A'hich  naturally 
got  higher  as  we  descended.  Thei^  ,was  a  lake  at  the 
bottom  of  the  hill  directly  in  front  of  us,  and  the  turn 
to  the  right  which  I  intended  taking  was  almost  im- 
perceptible to  the  party.  As  a  rule,  when  commencing 
to  descend  steep  hills,  I  go  very  steadily,  giving  myself 
an  opportunity  to  see  if  the  brake  holds  good  and  is 


168  DRIVINGr  AS  I  FOUND  IT. 

all  right  before  getting  up  steam.  Mj  intentions  were 
evidently  not  perceived  by  the  party,  and  they  com- 
menced to  reiterate  the  wonderful  driving  of  the  West- 
ern wonder,  the  famous  Hank,  over  again.  I  had 
already  come  to  the  conclusion  that  Hank's  name  was 
brought  in  to  me  as  a  hint  to  go  faster  and  felt  an 
inclination  coming  over  me  to  find  out  how  brave  these 
gentlemen  really  were,  so,  without  saying  a  word,  I  let 
go  the  brake  and  set  the  horses  going,  and  they  bein^ 
good  ones  away  they  went,  in  fact,  they  went  so  fast 
that  the  coach  began  to  sway.  Suddenly  some  one 
grasped  me  from  behind.  It  Avas  the  gentleman  who 
had  been  relating  the  wonderful  adventures  of  Hank, 
and  he  called  out,  "What  are  you  doing?  For  God's 
sake  stop!"  The  ladies  screamed,  for  tj^ose  who  were 
unacquainted  with  the  road  and  the  turn  at  the  bottom 
really  expected  that  I  was  going  to  drive  them  into 
the  lake.  When  nearing  the  bottom  of  the  hill  I  pulled 
my  horses  to  a  trot  and  safely  rounded  the  corner. 
After  regaining  breath,  the  gentleman  asked  me  what 
had  happened.  I  replied,  "Nothing.  You  gave  me  so 
much  Hank,  I  thought  I  Avould  give  you  a  little  in  re- 
turn," and  that  little  appeared  to  have  a  very  depress- 
ing effect  on  him,  for  never  another  word  was  spol^en 
during  the  remainder  of  the  journey. 
That  six  horses  can  be  driven  with  perfect  safety 


six  IN  HAND. 


im 


under  all  possible  conditions  1  have  proved  to  my  own 
satisfaction  and  that  of  many  others.  When  I  say  ito 
drive  I  really  mean  what  I  say,  and  not  merely  holding 
the  reins  and  perhaps  only  three  or  four  of  the  six 
horses  doing  any  work,  but  to  have  each  one  reined, 
bitted  and  put  to,  so  that  when  driven  a  few  rimes 


they  are  as  easy  to  drive  as  four,  and  require  no  more 
room  to  m.ake  a  turn  in.  The  reins  should  be  held  in 
the  left  hand  the  same  as  with  four;  excepting  that 
the  wheel  reins  are  placed  on  each  side  of  the  third 
finger,  the  swing  or  middle  pair  each  side  of  the  second 
and  the  leaders  each  side  of  the  first  or  top  finger  as 
in  fig.  21.    In  making  turns  the  lead  and  swing  reins 


170  DRmNG  AS  I  FOUND  IT. 

are  looped  at  one  and  tlie  same  time,  as  in  driving  four, 
and  illustrated  in  li*^'.  12.  The  easiest  and  best  way  to 
sh-orten  any  individual  rein  or  take  tkem  up  is  to  pull 
them  through  the  fingers  of  the  left  hand  with  the 
right,  which  shodld  at  all  times  be  fi^ee.  Keiver 
separate  the  reins  from  the  left  hand.  Coachmen  who 
can  drive  a  team  well  and  ^ho  possess  nerve,  good 
hands  and  judgment  will  not  find  it  so  difficult  as  might 
be  imagined  to  drive  six-in-hand  with  ease  and  safety. 
Amongst  my  readers  there  are  some  no  doubt  who  have 
had  the  good  fortune  to  enjoy  a  ride  on  the  six-horse 
coach  " Mohican, '^  running  from  Kichfield  Springs  to 
Cooperstown.  commencing  in  1888.  It  is  OTOJed  by  Mr. 
Eugene  Eai^le  of  the  "Hotel  Earlington,"  formerly  the 
"New  American,"  and  although  running  as  a  public 
coach,  was  used  almost  exclusively  by  his  guests  and  was 
a  pronounced  success.  The  following  season,  1889,  it 
was  again  put  on  the  road,  but  through  unforseen  cir- 
cumstances and  bad  management  on  the  part  of  those 
interested  in  the  contract  for  supplying  the  horses,  it  was 
speedily  taken  off.  The  next  season,  1890,  the  coach, 
having  undergone  a  comi)lete  renovation,  it  was  again 
started,  and  considering  the  short  time  it  ran,  was  well 
patronized.  This  was  only  natural;  for  a  more  pleasant 
and  enjoyable  trip  than  that  from  Kichfield  Si)rings  by 
way  of  the  little  lakes,  then  through  a  fertile  and  lovely 


SIX  IN  HAND.  171 

farmiDg  country  to  Maple  Grove,  is  not  suri)asse(l  in  any 
country.  The  last  half  of  the  drive  to  Cooperstown 
there  is  about  eight  miles  of  excellent  road,  extending 
the  whole  length  of  Otsego  Lake,  with  its  clear  waters, 
and  beautiful  scenery,  made  famous  by  the  works  of 
Fennimore  Cooper.  If  preferable,  the  passengers  can 
alight  at  Maple  Grove,  wliich  is  tlie  head  of  the  lake,  and 
finish  the  trip  on  the  "Nattie  Bumpo,"  a  small  steamer 
which  takes  a  circuitous  route  along  the  lake,  ariiving  at 
Cooperstown  about  the  same  time  as  the  coach,  in  fact, 
both  are  in  sight  of  each  other  the  whole  way.  The 
passengers  can  then  resume  their  seats  on  the  coach  and 
continue  the  trip,  which  includes  a  visit  to  the  Cooper 
House,  and  a  drive  through  the  streets  of  this  pretty 
little  town.  On  the  return  trip  the  first  stop  is  at 
Thayers'  Three-Mile  Point  House,  famous  for  its  fish  and 
game  dinners  which  are,  as  a  rule,  heartily  enjoyed  by 
the  passengers  after  the  twenty -mile  ride.  Two  hours 
are  allowed  for  refreshments.  Many  avail  themselves 
of  the  boating,  fishing,  and  other  amusements.  A  start 
is  then  made  for  home,  arriving  at  Richfield  Springs  at 
6  P.  M.,  in  good  time  for  dinner. 


DEWING  AS  I  POUND  IT. 


THE    OLD    TIMES. 

Some  people  delight  in  the  sport  of  the  turf 

Whilst  others  love  only  the  chase, 
But  to  me  the  delight  of  all  others  is 

A  coach  that  can  go  the  pace; 
There  are  some,  too,  for  whom  the  sea  has  its  charms 

And  who  sing  of  it  night  and  mom  ; 
But  give  me  a  coach  with  its  rattling  bars, 

And  a  guard  who  can  blow  his  horn. 

How  the  girls  all  doat  on  the  sight  of  a  coach, 

And  the  dragsman's  curly  locks, 
As  he  rattles  along  ^A^th  eleven  and  four 

And  a  petticoat  on  the  box. 
His  box  is  his  home,  his  team  his  one  pride, 

And  he  ne'er  looks  downcast  or  forlorn  ; 
And  he  lists  to  the  musical  sound  of  the  bars 

And  a  blast  on  the  old  Mail  Horn. 

—Old  Coaching  Song. 


COACHING  IN  AMERICA.  175 


COACHING  m  AMEEICA. 

The  revival  of  coaching  in  England,  some  few  years 
since,  had  no  more  enthusiastic  admirer  than  Colonel  De- 
lancey  Kane.  He  not  only  took  a  piincipal  part  in  it 
himself  by  running  a  coach,  but  conceived  the  idea  of  in- 
troducing this  most  attractive  mode  of  travel  to  the 
people  of  the  United  States,  and  to  him  alone  must  be 
given  the  credit  of  inspiring  the  lovers  of  horses  to  in- 
dulge in  this  healthy  recreation. 

In; the  year  1875,  the  ^' Tally  Ho"  was  running  from 
London  to  Virginia  Water,  with  Edwin  Fownes,  Sen.,  as 
professional  Coachman,  Guide,  and  Mentor.  The  Colo- 
nel soon  became  thoroughly  initiated  into  all  the  little 
points  and  ideas,  which  are  necessary  to  be  learned  to 
become  a  practical  coachman. 

The  following  year  the  Colonel  returned  to  New  York 
bringing  the  "Tally  Ho"  and  Arthur  Fownes,  son  of  his 
former  mentor,  with  him,  to  act  as  guard,  in  which  capa- 
city he  has  had  no  equal  on  this  side  of  the  water.  It  is 
a  great  jjity  that  the  exainple  he  set,  regarding  the  proper 
time  to  sound  a  call,  and  the  proper  call  to  sound,  was 
not  followed  as  an  established  standard.    It  ought  to  be 


1T6  ,DRmNO  AS  I  FOUND  IT. 

more  clearly  understood,  that  a  guard  is  not  merely  one 
who  can  make  a  noise;  he  should  know  what  to  blow, 
and  what  he  blows  for. 

The  following  is  a  brief  history  of  "Coaching  in 
America.  In  187G  the  "Tally  Ho"  made  its  first 
ai>pearance  during  the  spring  season,  starting  from  New 
York  (Hotel  Brunswick)  to  Pelham  (Arcularuis  Hotel). 
The  start  each  day  being  witnessed  by  admiring  crowds  of 
peo])le,  and  it  ])ro^ed  such  a  pronounced  success,  that  it 
was  decided  to  put  it  on  the  road  in  the  fall,  and  the  jour- 
ney was  extended  to  New  Kochelle  (Neptune  House). 
The  following  season,  1877,  a  different  road  was  se- 
lected. The  "Tally  Ho"  running  to  Yonkers  (Getty 
House),  starting  from  (Hotel  Brunswick),  New  Y^'ork. 

The  "Tally  Ho"  was  put  back  again  on  the  New  Ro- 
chelle  road  in  1 878,  running  from  (Hotel  Brunswick)  New 
York  to  New  Rochelle  (Hugenot  Hotel),  but  in  conse- 
quence of  the  bad  condition  of  the  roads,  the  coach  had 
to  stop  running.  During  the  foregoing  season  A.  FowTies 
acted  as  guaril  and  coachman.  To  show  that  the  interest 
taken  by  the  jmblic  in  coaching  was  not  allowed  to 
abate,  the  following  article  copied  from  the  "'New 
York  Herald,"  of  April  3,  1880,  may  be  interesting 
reading:  "On  Wednesday,  April  21,  Colonel  De- 
Lancey  Kane  will  start  with  his  coach  Tally  Ho' 
for   the   season   of   1880.    From   New   York   to   New 


COACHING  IN  AMERICA.  177 

Koclielle  is  the  route  selected,  and  tbe  same  places  as  in 
former  years  will  be  passed  through,  yiz.,  Harlem,  Mott 
Haven,  Fox's  Comers,  Westchester,  Pelham  Bridge  and 
Pelham.    The  changes  of  horses  will  take  place  as  for- 
merly.   During  the  past  winter  the  coach  has  been  en- 
tirely   reappointed,    the    original    color    having    been 
retained.    A  glance  at  the  official  time  table  below  shows 
that  the  ''Tally  Ho"  will  leave  the  Hotel  Brunswick  at 
10  a.  m.  and  arrive  at  New  Kochelle  at  12  m.    Fully  three 
hours  and  a-half  may  be  i)assod  at  the  Castle  Inn,  as  the 
horn  of  the  guard  ^^^ill  not  give  notice  of  the  return  trip 
until  half-past  3  p.  m.    At  half-past  5  p.  m.  the  Hotel 
Brunswick  will  be  reached.    Beside  the  attraction  of  the 
route,  which  is  one  of  great  beauty,  always  pleasant, 
often  picturesque,  and  occasionally  romantic.    Travelers 
by   the  "Tally  Ho"  will    find    a    most    charming    old- 
fashioned  hotel  in  the  Castle  Inn.    The  house  has  been 
leased  by  the  Queen's  County  Hunt,  T\ith  forty  a«res 
of  land  surrounding  it,  for  a  hunting  headquarters,  and 
they  have  furnished  it,  so  as  to  make  it  a  regular  old- 
fashioned  country  hotel  of  the  first-class.    Passengers 
will  find  on  the  grounds  the  Hunt  model  kennels,  which 
haye  just  been  completed,  containing  over  forty  hounds, 
ten  additional  couples  having  arrived  from  England  on 
Thursday  last.    There  are  now  over  thirty  horses  in  the 
Hunt  stables,  and  fox  hunting  in  its  best  form  is  regular- 


178  ©RIVING  AS  I  FOUND  IT. 

Ij  carried  on  every  Wednesday  and  Saturday  at  lialf- 
past  1  p.  m.  The  field  is  open  to  all  comers,  and  every 
body  will  be  made  welcome. 

"  Mnch  has  been  done  to  the  roads  by  the  village  author- 
ities, through  which  the  coach  will  pass,  and  the  road 
between  Pelham  Bridge  and  New  Kochelleis  now  being 
macadamized  by  the  residents  of  the  neighborhood  in 
view  of  the  'Tally  Ho's'  return. 

The  coach,  in  short,  will  be  well-horsed,  admirably 
managed  and  capitally  driven.  It  will  as  heretofore  run 
regularly,  rain  or  shine.  The  Coaching  Book  ^ill  be  open 
in  a  few  days,  when  places  can  be  secured  for  weeks  in 
advance. 

As  stated  in  the  foregoing  article,  the  roads  had  been 
repaired  and  the  weather  being  exceptionally  good,  that 
season,  everything  proved  very  satisfactory. 

In  this  year  Frank  Swales  was  professional  coach- 
man, and  H.  Distin  acted  as  guard.  It  ^dll  not  perhaps 
be  out  of  place  to  mention  that  the  name  "Tally  Ho" 
has  been  wrongly  applied  to  e^^ery  old  ramshackle  ve- 
hicle drawn  by  four  horses.  It  would  be  equally  reason- 
able to  name  a  barge  or  rowboat  "Mayflower"  or  "Volun- 
teer," as  to  call  all  coaches  "Tally  Hos." 

There  being  no  new  aspirant  in  1881  to  take  up  and 
follow  in  the  footsteps  of  the  Colonel,  who  during  the 
time  the  "Tally  Ho"  ran,  was  sole  proprietor,  and  bore 


COACHING  IN  AIVIERICA.  179 

the  entire  expense  himself.  A  few  members  of  the 
Coaching  Club,  at  that  time  in  its  infancy,  started  the 
"Tantivy"  by  subscription,  and  starting  from  Kew  ^'ork 
(Hotel  Brunswick)  made  the  (Tarrytown  Hotel)  Tarry- 
town,  its  terminus,  A.  Fownes,  ])rofessional  coachman, 
and  K.  Graham  acted  as  guard. 

The  following  are  the  coaches  in  chronological  order 
and  may  be  used  for  reference: 

1882.  The  Tantivy's  second  appearance,  running  from 
New  York  (Hotel  BrunsAvick)  to  Yonkers  (Getty  House), 
H.  Evans,  guard. 

1883.  No  coach  ran  this  year 

1884.  "The  Greyhound"  started  on  its  first  trip  from 
New  York  (Hotel  Brunswick)  to  Pelham  (Country  Club). 

C.  D.  Iselin,  G.  R.  Roosevelt, 

Proprietors. 
H.  Distin,  guard. 

1886.  The  subscription  coach  "Tantivy"  again  made 
its  appearance  this  season  running  to  (County  Club)  Pel- 
ham,  from  New  York  (Hotel  Bruns^^'ick). 

F.  Cunard,  guard. 

1887.  The  "Tantivy"  starting  from  New  York  (Hotel 
Brunswick)  running  to  Pelham  (County  Club). 

F.  Swales,  prof,  coachman, 
;  F.  Cunard,  guard. 


180  DRIVING  AS  I  FOUND  IT. 

1890.  The  ^'Tanth^"  starting  from  New  York  (Hotel 
Brunswick)  to  (County  Club)  Westchester. 

H.  Distin,  guard. 
The  principal  owners  of  the  "Tantivy"  were  Colonel 
Jay,  Frederic  Bronson,  Esq.,  Hon.  Hugo  Fritsh,  Isaac 
Bell,  Esq.,  T.  K.  Koosevelt,  Esq.,  and  Reginald  Rives,  Esq. 

1891.  In  consequence  of  the  bad  condition  of  the  roads 
there  was  no  coach  run  this  year. 


'»z:$=i-i!^-:^=w«' 


ALL  ILLUSTRATIONS  IN  THIS  WORK  ON  DRIVING 
DRAWN  BY  WALTER  PETTEE  ARE  COPYRIGHTED  AND 
CANNOT  BE  USED  WITHOUT  THE  CONSENT  OF  THE 
PUBLISHERS. 


LONDON  HARNESS  AGENCY. 


Highest   Award    Paris    Exposition,    1890. 

MARTIN  &  MARTIN, 

MANUFACTURERS    OF 

LONDON  WEST  END  HARNESS  AND  SADDLERY. 

Our  stock  comprises  full  line  of  Four-in-hand,  Tandem,  Landau, 
Brougham,  T  Cart,  Dog  Cart,  and  Eusset  Leather  Harness  suitable 
for  Surreys  and  Buekboards. 

All  newest  designs  in  Driving  Aprons,  Crook  Whips,  Coach,  Post 
and  Taudem  Horns,  with  extra  extensions  to  improve  the  tone.  Patent 
rubbir  mouthpieces. 

SADDLERY. 

CROPS,  .  LADIES' &  GENTS' 

RIDING  &  DRIVING 

CLOVES. 


POLO 


GOODS, 

WHIPS. 


REGISTERED  MARTIX  SADDLE, 


FOWN'S, 
SLEEP'S, 
DENT'S, 

GRANT'S. 


EVERY  ESGLISH  STABLE  REQUISITE  KEPT  IN  STOCK. 

All  goods  sold  by  us  are  made  at  our  London  West  End  Establish- 
ment. THE  VALUE  AND  3IERIT  we  offer  cannot  possibly  be  equalled 
by  any  other  house,  as  all  INTERMEDLITE  PROFITS  are  saved. 

LONDON  HOUSE:  103  aioucester  Eoad,  South  Kensington,  London. 

PHILADELPHIA:  1,713  Chestnut  Street. 


235  FIFTH  AVE.,  near  27th  Street,  NEW  YORK. 


CARRIAGES 


FOR 


The  Boulevard, 
The  Park, 
The  Country, 
The  Seashore, 

AND 

FOR    PROFESSIONAL  AND   BUSINESS  USE. 

Each  and  Every  One  Adapted  for  Its  Special 
Purpose. 

kimbalTbros., 

FACTORY  AND   WAREROOMS, 

NOS.  110,  112  AND  114  SUDBURY  STREET, 

BOSTON. 


jeNKINS, 


304  f\fE\\  fWllfiUE, 

NEiAi  VORK         KND         l-ONDON. 

Specialties  :    Liveries, 

Riding    Breeches   and    Leggings, 

Hunting   and   Driving  Suits. 

Successors  to  Messrs.  Redfern  &  Son's,  Gentlemen's  Department. 
Late  with  Hammond  &  Co.,    Celebrated   Breeches   Makers,  London. 


HANSOM 

CABS, 

SKELETON 

AND 

Body  Breaks 

AND 

ALL  KINDS 

OF 

VEHICLES 

OF 

SPECIAL 
DESIGNS 

Built  to  Order. 


FINE 

REPilRING 

IN  ALL 

BRANCHES 
PROMPTLY 
EXECUTED 

AT 

MODERATE 
PRICES. 


ALFRED  J.  WALKER, 

umm  mummii 

142  EAST  4IST  STREET,  NEW  YORK. 


ESTIMATES     FURNISHED. 


•3 


Do  kr 


Ever  Look  Like 
THIS! 


''"^''ii%iiiiiiiiiiBiiiii;;;7:iiailiii 

Or  do  they  grow  so 
FOUL  and  SOUR  your 
Horses  will  not  drink 
from  them  ? 

Why  not  have   THIS 


||iiijliiiiiiip  Have   you  any  PRO- 

^■||jl|ipf         '    about  your  stable? 

WRITE  FOR 

FULL 
CATALOGUE. 

CORDLEY  &  HAYES,  Sole  Agents, 

173    and    175    DUANE   STREET,    NEW   YORK. 


£STABL.1SH;KD     1835, 

ENGLISH  AND  FRENCH   HARNESS  AGENCY. 

Stable 
Outfitters. 
Correct 

Styles. 
Vienna 


Leather 
Goods. 


.iSCCA^f^j-^ 


Co     goS  OJL 


254    BOYLSTON     STREET,    BOSTON,     MASS.,    U.    S.     A. 

Agents  in  America  for  Frencli  Straight  Seat  Saddles. 


13.  oro^i^. 


TJ^II-OR  ••••  MND  •••••  I7VIRORTER, 
71     BEACON    ST.,    BOSTON. 


Agent  for  Whitaker  &  Co.  and  Hill  Brothebs,  London,  West. 


DeNT'S 

E)\l(iUS|^  b^WllfiCi  (ieoi/E5; 

ALSO 

Walking,  etc.,  for  Ladies  and  Gentlemen, 


TO     BE     OBTAINED     OF     ALL 


Hijli-Class  Men's  Furnishers  and  Other  Dealers 
Throughout  the  World. 

DR.  W.  T.  CARMODY, 

(Member  Koyal  College  Veterinary  Surgeons,  London.) 

VETERINARY   SURGEON, 

Office:  826  Seventh  ive.,  Corner  53d  St.,  New  York. 

Telephone  Call  632  38tli  St.  Kesidence,  60  West  37tli  St.,  N.  Y. 

JOHN  REYNDERS  &  CO., 

o  jpor  loi  A.IV  » . 

The  highest  gi-ade  of  spectacles,  eyeglasses, 
opera  and  field  glasses. 

Our  latest  novelty  The  "Electric"  Race  and 
Field  glass  with  instantaneous  opening  and  clos- 
ing arrangement. 

Oculists'  Formulae  receive  our  careful  attention. 


303  Fourth  Avenue,         N.  E.  Cor.  23rd  St., 
NEW    YORK. 


Peter  White. 


^_+ 


Benjamin  Kerr. 


HARNESS    MANUFACTURERS. 

LANDAU,  BROUGHAM,  T-CAET,  COUPE,  DOG  CART,  TANDEM, 

AND  FOUR- IN  HAND  HARNESS,  CUSTOM 

MADE  AND  TO  ORDER. 

LIGHT  ROAD  HARNESS  A  SPECIALTY. 

All  Requisites  forthe  Stable  Constantly  on  Hand  and  of  the  Best  Quality. 

13  EAST  27th  STREET,  NEIR  FIFTH  AVENUE. 


m:tj]li^er. 


HABIT  MAKER, 

Inventor  and  patentee  of  the 

IMPROVED  AMERICAN 
RIDING    HABIT    SKIRT. 

Unsurpassed  in  Fit,  Elegance 
Comfort  and  Safely. 

NOTICE  TO  OUT-OF-TOWN 
LADY  PATRONS.— Unless 
measure  for  bodice  can  be 
taken  and  fitted  in  my  estab- 
lishment, orders  for  riding 
skirts  only  will  be  received 
and  executed,  and  cloth  sold 
for  bodice.  Directions  for  tak- 
ing measurements  for  skirt 
sent  on  application.  No  pat- 
terns sold. 


(4  West  23d  Street, 

Opposite  Fifth  Avenue  Hotel,  NEW  YORK. 


Frederick  Lee, 


MANUFACTUKEK     OF 


BEST    LONDON   HARNESS    AND    SADDLERY, 

65  Long  Acre,  London,  England. 

I  take  great  pleasure  In  announcing  that  I  have  opened  a  Bkanch  Es- 
tablishment at 

r^o.    5    ^W.    20i±L    St.,  TSTe-vvr   York, 

(OPPOSITE  DELMONICO'S.) 

where  will  be  offered  for  inspection  a  choice  selection  of  very  best  LONDON 
HARNESS  and  SADDLEEY. 

It  is  now  over  20  years  since  my  manufactures  were  first  introduced  into 
the  States,  and  the  increasing  demand  for  same  has  necessitated  the  opening 
of  the  above  premises. 

Should  you  trust  me  with  any  of  your  kind  favors,  I  assure  you  that  you 
will  find  my  goods  of  the  very  finest  quality,  at  the  most  reasonable  prices, 
and  your  wishes  carried  our  with  promptness. 

Thanking  my  many  pairons  for  their  past  favors,  I  am. 
Yours  Respectfully, 

FREDERICK    LEE. 

JOHN    M.   jenny" 

NEW    YORK    LIVERY 

BOOT      MAKER, 

19  West  28th  Street, 

Two  doors  East  of  Broadwaj^  NEW    YORK. 

A  larj^e  assortment  of  English  Boots  and  Tops  consta.ntly  on  hand. 

JOHN    WIRTH, 

155  West  28th  Street, 

Bet.  6th  and  7th  As^es.,  NEW    YORK. 


DRIVING    LESSONS. 

Ladies   and   gentlemen  taught  to   drive 
Tandem  or  Four-in-hand. 

Horses  bought  and  sold  on  commission 
and  broken  to  all  kinds  of  harness. 
Terms  on  application. 

F.    SWALES, 

log  West  33d  Street. 

Also  care  of 

J.    T.    BURGESS, 

54    West    23d    Street. 


i€ 


DRIVING    AS     I     FOUND     IT." 


For  sale  at  all  the  principal  Book  Stores 
and  Harness  Agencies  throughout  the  United 
States,  or  at  either  of  the  above  addresses. 


